


escapes, true love, miracles

by spocklee



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Other, francine is really good at improvising, nb barry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 13:17:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6957988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spocklee/pseuds/spocklee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>princess bride AU. written (late) for flashvibe week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just as a warning, joe west is unfortunately dead in this fic due to the character casted as inigo montoya. if that bums you out and you'd rather not read, that's totally understandable. just thought i'd give a heads up.
> 
> (barry's pronouns in this are they/them in case that trips you up at first)

Wally had a fever. A real, adrift in bed, not-Ferris-Bueller, fever. Francine, his mother, called the elementary school and told them he wouldn't be showing up. _No, she didn't have a doctor's note to scan and email them. No, she didn't think a note was necessary when she had a perfectly good thermometer in her hand that said 100. Fahrenheit, yes. Well if you want I can come talk to you in person tomorrow to sort this out, but today I'm taking care of my son. Who is sick, ma'am._ She raised her eyebrows and sighed as she hung up the phone. A voice called from his bedroom.

 

"Mom?"

 

"I just called the school to let them know you wouldn't be there, honey. You want any more soup?"

 

"No thanks. I'm not hungry right now."

 

She walked into his room, "Alright. But you're gonna have to eat something in a few hours, okay?"

 

He was lying in bed, half-full bowl on the side table. The glass of water was empty, and she put a gentle hand on his forehead (God, after all these years it still surprised her sometimes how small he was) before grabbing the glass and returning to the kitchen. His voice followed after her.

 

"Mom?"

 

"I'll be right there, honey."

 

She came back in. She set the full glass of water on the table, and sat down next to him. He gave a small half-smile, and she mirrored it back.

 

"You feeling any better?"

 

"Yeah. I feel a lot better."

 

"I can call the school back up and tell them you can come in late today."

 

"No! No. I actually feel really sick still. Like, still pretty bad, mom."

 

She hunched her shoulders, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, "So, what do you want to do? Sleep? Read one of your car magazines? Draw?"

 

He closed his eyes to think, and she felt a pang of worry. It was likely only a one-day fever from playing in the rain too long, but if he still felt bad tomorrow she would take him to the doctor.

 

"I already read all my magazines. And I don't wanna move but I don't want to sleep, that's boring. Could you tell me a story?"

 

"Sure, honey. What kind of story?"

 

"Something with superheroes!"

 

Francine smiled down at him, while internally trying to remember the one or two comics of her sister's that she had skimmed through as a child. She had mostly read fantasy books when she was young. She was going to have to wing this one.

 

\---

 

Once, someone lived on a hill.

 

It was a very green hill, and not too steep and not too high, where the grass grew very soft, and when it started to get dark out, you could hear the hidden families of crickets start to chirp. There was a village nearby, and occasionally a carriage or knight would pass through, but otherwise it was rather a lonely place-

 

\---

 

"Mom?"

 

"Yes, Wally?"

 

"Is this really a superhero story? It sounds like a princess story."

 

"Well... it is a princess story. But it's also a superhero story."

 

"What?"

 

"It can be both! Don't worry, I promise there will be superheroes."

 

\---

 

It was a beautiful, lonely place. Three people once lived there, in a house at the top, but the husband and wife had died. The only person left was their child, whose name was Bartholomew.

 

A neighbor and his daughter, old friends of the family, came to watch over the child. The three of them became a new family. But one day the man, a guard in the city, was killed and did not come home. And his daughter left to find revenge, and she returned less and less to the house on the hill. Bartholomew did not want her to go, but they understood. It would be unfair, when they knew the feeling, when they wanted to run out of the house and find revenge too. But something kept them in place. The daughter was relieved and told them to stay safe, that she would find the killer for the both of them, and she would come home someday.

 

She returned one more time, and then never came back, and Bartholomew did not sleep or eat for days. A rumor reached the hill of a swordswoman fitting her description, traveling and taking odd jobs, safe and alive down in the Star Kingdom, and the weight lifted. But still the guard's daughter did not return to the hill.

 

The one left behind had always been called Barry. They continued tending the little farm alone, just enough to get by. They would let travelers stay the night, and sometimes the travelers would be quite kind and would give away books or candles or trinkets, and sometimes the travelers would be quite rude and ungrateful, and say the house was full of fleas and drafty. Barry continued to accept all guests, despite the rude ones.

 

Sometimes yellow flowers grew on the hillside, and a passing scientist, an old alchemist with a young apprentice, said they were called buttercups. The next day, Barry sat in the flowers in a break in their daily work, hidden up to their chin among the stems and petals, and thought that sometimes they were just as much a woman as a man. Sometimes the name 'Barry' did not quite feel right, at least by itself, because it was like people were only seeing half of them. It was another thing they wished they could have told the guard's daughter if she ever returned. They did not share this with any of the strangers who passed. It felt like too big and wonderful but bittersweet a thing to share for the first time with fleeting visitors.

 

One day a man Barry's age came by, with a cart full of metal contraptions and tools, as well as a soft bundle of fabrics. He had black hair that fell to his shoulders and eyes that always seemed to catch a light. He stayed the night, and told Barry a million fascinating things he'd seen and done. The next day he left, and Barry watched him leave until he and his cart were out of sight. It was not the first time Barry hoped a visitor would return, but it was the first time they lost sleep over it. They laid in bed and thought about all the things the man had said, all the times they had made each other laugh in the short time they'd met.

 

The man came by again a week later, same as before except a slight change in the assortment of metal and fabric in his cart. Barry wiped the sweat off their brow with the back of their arm, and grinned as the man came up the hill.

 

_You're back already?_

 

 _Yeah,_ said the man, _I just had to stop and trade some stuff from the town nearby._

_Did you want to stay over again?_

_Yeah! And don't worry, I brought a gift, I'm not totally mooching off you._

He rummaged through his cart and pulled out an oddly shaped watering can, and Barry did not know how to say that he didn't need to give them anything if he wanted to stay. Instead they asked for his name.

 

_My name is Francisco, but please just call me Cisco._

Barry paused, but said, _My name is Bartholomew, but everyone calls me Barry. Are you an inventor?_

_Only as a hobby. Officially I'm a tailor._

And so it went for a year. Barry worked everyday as they always had, but now would always look over their shoulder to see if the man with the strange cart was coming up the path. Sometimes they would wait three days, or a whole month before the familiar face appeared in the distance. Cisco would stay the night, and they'd stay up late talking about science or nature or news of the kingdom. Once, they both sat outside as the yellow flowers were in bloom, enjoying the warm breeze, and Cisco asked Barry what they were called. Barry had been surprised that Cisco, who seemed to know everything, had to ask.

 

_They're called buttercups._

Cisco had laughed, pleased, _I've seen them in other places. They always remind me of you now._

Barry spoke without thinking, remembering that the guard's daughter had been named after a flower too-

 

_I always liked the name. Buttercup. You can, um, call me that if you want._

Cisco had looked at him, confused. Barry shook their head and muttered to forget it, that it didn't make sense. But a hand landed on their shoulder, and they looked up from the ground to see Cisco smiling again.

 

_Hey, I think it's nice. Do you want me to call you Buttercup instead of Barry?_

_Only sometimes._

_Okay. Only sometimes._

 

A year passed. Barry set about to their work for the day but could not focus, because they were constantly looking over their shoulder, waiting to see Cisco down the hill. Their house was now full with strange inventions, and whenever strangers stayed over, Barry would explain with a reddening face that they were gifts. They were wearing their mother's old necklace, which Cisco had fixed the last time he'd visited, and their hand reached up to fiddle with it nervously. The sun had almost set before the man with the cart appeared.

 

The night was warm, so they talked outside rather than in the crowded house. You could see spilled handfuls of stars between the clouds. Cisco had told Barry that there were cities where there were so many lights on earth that you couldn't see any lights above.

 

_Even the moon?_

_Nah, you can almost always see the moon._

 

\---

 

"Mom. Superpowers."

 

"Don't worry, I know."

 

\---

 

As they were looking up at the sky, a shooting star passed. However, it grew very bright, and then crashed into the valley below. The earth shook, and Barry and Cisco stood up and saw the fallen star glowing far off in the distance. They stumbled down the hill in the dark towards it, but could not approach any closer due to the intense heat that emanated from it. They stared at it, entranced by its otherworldly glow, but eventually gave up on seeing much else. They returned to the house and fell asleep.

 

It stormed that night. Despite the constant drumming of thunder, there had only been one flash of lightning.

 

The next morning, Barry woke up early, and let Cisco sleep as they set about their work for the day. They were surprised to find that when they were done, the sun was still in the same place as when they had started. They saw a hummingbird flit by, and could see each wingbeat. Barry, curious and a little nervous, picked up a rock, tested its weight in their hand, and then threw it. They ran, and caught it before it hit the ground.

 

They ran back to the hut, where Cisco was still asleep. Barry hesitated, then shook him awake.

 

Barry asked Cisco to watch as they ran down the hill. Cisco agreed, if only to amuse his friend, but was shocked to see that Barry turned into a blur and ran a mile and back in only seconds. They both concluded that it must have been caused by the meteor that had fallen the night before. Barry had looked to Cisco for some sort of explanation, but he had only shrugged.

 

_I'm not really sure if this is science or magic, Buttercup. But it's you now._

And when Cisco had made to leave later that morning, as he always did, Barry had grabbed his hand without thinking. They asked him to stay, if he could. Science or magic, it seemed like too big and wonderful a thing to become by one's self.

 

Cisco had smiled _. I was hoping you'd ask._

They continued living, as people do despite the supernatural. Barry finished their daily work in minutes, and began to grow restless with the rest of the day. They began to work on expanding the house, as Cisco worked outside on new inventions. Barry began to disappear into town, telling Cisco that they were doing the occasional odd job. Cisco sensed only half the truth, but would only return to working on something that Barry could only see glimpses of before Cisco hid it away.

 

At the end of the first month of living together, Barry revealed a workshop built for Cisco's inventions and tailoring, built with materials that they had bought with money from hundreds of odd jobs they'd done throughout neighboring towns. Cisco revealed his own work.

 

It was a matching set of pants, boots, and a tunic made of red leather and fabric. The tunic had a red hood. Barry put it on in a burst of wind and spun around.

 

 _Whoa. It fits perfectly,_ they said.

 

Cisco rubbed his neck, _I wanted it to be a surprise, so I used your regular clothes for measurements. I figure it will get less worn out than your normal stuff when you do your, you know, the fast thing._

Barry was about to begin to thank him a million times, when they noticed that there was another red outfit on the table.

 

_What's that?_

_Oh! Yeah,_ Cisco avoided eye contact, _It's not as good for running around in, but I had extra fabric and... Well._

Barry walked over and picked it up. It was a bright red dress. They held it up against their shoulders, and it fell to their ankles. Cisco looked shy.

 

_I mean, only if you want it-_

Barry blurred and suddenly the first outfit was back in his hands, and the dress was on their body. They spun around, and the fabric flowed out around them and caught softly around their legs.

 

_I want it._

Cisco smiled. Barry smiled.

 

_So, now what are we going to do?_

Barry tilted their head. They thought of their mother's strength, of their first father's work as a healer, of their second father who had given his life while guarding a town. Or the guard's daughter, who was still out there in the world somewhere looking for justice.

 

_You know... I always did want to help people._

_\---_

"Yes! Finally. Hero stuff is gonna happen."

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> francine is like doing the calm mom thing where she's externally like 'haha of course i can tell you a superhero story' but internally she's like 'oh my god i really hope i remember the ending of that princess book i read ten times as a kid'


	2. Chapter 2

They lived for a year together on the hill. Barry would speed around the countryside to villages and towns, and Cisco would invent in his workshop. If Barry needed help, they would run back and Cisco would hand them a tool or give them a piece of advice, and Barry would thank him and then run back to wherever the problem was. If a town needed a well, Cisco gave Barry a drill. If a town was being terrorized by a gang of thieves, Cisco would tell Barry how to set a trap.

 

Word spread that after the fall of the meteor, other people had appeared with powers. Some had turned to good, others to evil, and some to petty theft and tax evasion. The worst rumor was that of a terrible monster named Zoom, who moved without being seen until it was too late and could not be touched. There was relief, in knowing that King Zolomon had received powers as well, and protected the region from such a monster. Zoom would not even approach the border, it was said.

 

Barry did not worry over rumors. They instead focused on the people at hand, on the problems that the King could not find time to fix; the farmers struggling to harvest all their crops in time, the parents unable to find lost children before dark, the travelers lost in the woods. Barry, known to the people as the Flash, hidden behind a mask that Cisco had made, was uninterested in the King's growing task force of heroes. Barry was content to come back every day to Cisco in their home on the hill.

 

Cisco was not.

 

"You can't be serious."

 

"I can't stay here, Barry. Every day you go out and help people, and all I do is stay here."

 

Barry watched him pack things into a bag. They could not say what they wanted to say. It sounded very selfish. They said something else.

 

"You help people too, Cisco! Even if you stay here. If you want, I can bring you with me though, you don't have to stay stuck here everyday." _I can't tell you to stay, but please, don't leave me._

"It's not that. It's just..." Cisco set down the clothes he was holding to clench his hands, "I just have this feeling, you know? That I need to go out there in the world. There's something waiting for me."

 

"A feeling?"

Cisco drew the string of the bag and tightened it, and brought it out to the cart outside. Barry followed, and watched him set it in the cart with the rest of his things. It was night, and the valley sunk below them. The stars lay behind Cisco and surrounded the edges of his face, like flowers crowning his hair, as he turned around.

 

"I know, it sounds super weird. But I've never had a feeling this strong. I keep dreaming about it," he stepped forward, and Barry took a step back, their arms crossed over their chest, "But I know I'll come back. I promise I'll come back. I have a feeling about that too."

 

Barry let him take another step forward, until Cisco's hand was light on their arm, trying to be detached but instead saying, "I'll miss you."

 

"I leave tomorrow. I've been trying to leave for awhile now, but I- I kept chickening out," the hand on Barry's arm pulled back. They leaned forward after it, ashamed of the desperation their body was eager to show. To be close, to stay touching.

 

"You swear? You'll definitely come back? It's not like I'm not gonna wait around here forever either, so don't wander around for years," Barry wanted to sound offhand, and only sounded close to tears. _I can't say I need you. I need you._

 

"Of course, Buttercup."

 

-

 

Three months later, Barry received word that a man with long black hair and a cart full of metal and wood had been seen pulled through a tear in space while on the road leading into the local port. It was likely the work of Reverb, a villain who abducted and murdered people through holes scratched open in the very air. The tear had closed. The man had been taken and the cart left. The cart had had a strip of red fabric tied around the handle.

 

The old woman who told Barry this had paused and gestured to their suit amiably, "In fact, it was the exact same color as your suit. Same fabric too."

 

Barry stopped wearing the suit. The Flash disappeared from the countryside and was not seen again. The person who lived alone on the hill no longer took visitors.

 

-

-

-

 

It was three years later when King Zolomon made an announcement. The Flash was still alive, and would finally be made a hero of the royal guard. The guard had diminished over the years, as Zoom had made constant attacks on the border. The Flash would become Zolomon's apprentice since their powers were similar, and would inherit the kingdom.

 

Barry walked out onto the gathered crowd in the town square, to the sound of trumpets and cheering, and barely had the energy to look up to meet anyone's eyes. They wore a suit made by the king's professional tailor. The original red clothes and dress remained locked in the one chest they'd brought from the house on the hill.

 

-

Barry left the castle walls often. They were still being trained on both etiquette and different ways to use their powers. Barry didn't care much for either, and spent most of the days leading up to the ceremony out in the woods alone. They would wander out into the trees until the guards lost sight of them, and then run and run and run until they were out of breath, by the ocean or in a desert or in another wood entirely. They would take off their mask for a moment. And they would find their way back, sometimes taking hours to return but always returning.

 

One day, in the middle of running, a horrible coldness gripped them. And they could not run any further, or even move. A rough fabric brushed across their face as a bag slid over their head, and their hands bent back behind their waist under a harsh metal.

 

They didn't return to the castle that night.

 

-

 

They woke up on a boat. The moon was a curved slit in the sky above them, and they felt the waves before they sat up and saw them on all sides. There were shackles keeping their ankles and wrists together, or else they could have just run over the water. There was a horrible density to the cuffs, or else they could have just vibrated through them. There was a molasses-thick apathy in Barry, or else they would have felt afraid.

 

"Oh, good. You're awake."

 

Barry turned their head. They were still wearing their mask. Three people sat at the head of the boat, two also in hoods and masks and one grinning bare at him.

 

"What? You're not gonna freak out? Maybe demand some answers?" The man's voice was sharp but almost sing-song, telling a long continuous joke at someone else's expense. Barry just blinked at him and looked back at the water. There had to be some way out of this.

 

"Hey, don't get any ideas. Can't have you drowning on us because you get some rotten idea about trying to escape, _Flash."_

One of the masked people was rowing with her back to the front of the boat, and the other, with a sword at her hip, seemed uninterested in the man's prodding. Barry relented.

 

"Why?"

 

The man rolled his eyes, "That little royal guard you're joining? I don't like it. And kidnapping you puts a spoke in the king's plans."

 

Barry's face fell; they weren't interested in cryptic answers, "Oh."

 

The man squinted, "Are you feeling alright? Usually people are more alarmed by now."

 

Barry ignored him, an actual curiosity striking them, "Hey, how did you stop me? Were you that cold feeling?"

 

The man smirked again, and held out his hand to show a web of ice growing across his fingers, "They wouldn't call me Captain Cold if I couldn't."

 

Barry sighed and looked away, an unimpressed raise in their eyebrows. They looked at the swordswoman and the rower, waiting for them to say something. The latter said nothing, but the former did a double-take at something behind the boat, and Barry turned around to see a strange glow in the dark air, far behind them. It looked almost like a window floating over the water, or the hollow eye of a giant that had opened above the waves. It shimmered and then disappeared.

 

The only sound was the hush of paddles and the creaking of wood as Barry, the swordswoman, and Cold stared out behind them.

 

The window appeared again, noticeably closer. It blinked out.

 

Cold swore, "Well, that's just perfect. Hey," he stretched out a foot and tapped the rower's calf with the toe of his boot, "You better row faster, Danvers."

 

The rower spoke, "I already told you, it's Supergirl."

 

"I don't think I can say that without sarcasm."

 

The swordswoman leaned her head into her hand and muttered, "That's rich coming from someone named 'Captain Cold.'"

 

Barry almost smiled on reflex, before turning back to look at the darkening water behind them. The window appeared even closer. A figure could be seen standing behind it.

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to describe leonard's drawling voice is so funny to me. also this is the part of the fic where i was like 'oh wow, i messed up, this is gonna be way longer than i planned lmao'


	3. Chapter 3

The boat came to a rocky cliffside. Supergirl did not even look tired as she got out into the cold and shallow water that flowed around her knees. She pulled the boat in towards the smooth rocks of the narrow shore. The swordswoman got out and clapped a hand on her shoulder, and they shared an understanding glance as Cold strode out of the boat in a swift and single step. He walked to the face of the cliff and put his hands on his hips. Barry leaned back in the boat, wondering if they'd be expected to climb up it with their ankles and hands bound. Cold spun around.

 

"Supergirl. Take Flash up first. If our guest ever gets here, I want to be the one to meet them."

 

Barry sighed, but was surprised when instead of throwing them over her shoulder, Supergirl picked them up gently in both arms.

 

"Put your arms around my neck. I don't want to drop you," she sounded sincere, then nervous, "Um! Not that I will. I've never dropped anyone."

 

Barry was about to reassure her on instinctive politeness but ended up flinching and clutching her neck in shock as her feet lifted off the ground. She kept going higher and higher. Cold shouted at them as they rose.

 

"Hey, just so you know, we don't have all day."

 

Supergirl rolled her eyes, but looked down at Barry, who was still eyeing the ground in shock, "I'm going to go a little faster. I'm sure you won't mind."

 

There was a rush of air over Barry's head, and then they were being set down on flat ground. They were on the top of the cliff. They leaned over to look down at Cold and the swordswoman down below, but could barely see the two from such a height. Before Barry could say anything, Supergirl gave a little wave and descended back down. Barry sat back on the ruins of a stone wall they'd been left on.

 

A few minutes later, Supergirl set the swordswoman down a few feet away before returning to the bottom of the cliffs. Barry stared at the woman, eyebrows creasing. She was familiar, despite the mask and hood.

 

"Do we know each other?"

 

She turned to them, and there was a small laugh, teasing but not unkind, in her voice, "I've never met the Flash before. Then again you're still wearing the mask," she tapped at her own, "so who knows?"

 

Barry raised their hands up as if to remove it, then thought better of it. A thought struck them.

 

"Why haven't you already taken off my mask?"

 

She sat on a rock and shrugged, knees out and elbows resting on them, "The plan was just to get you away from the king. We're not interested in your identity."

 

"And why get me away from the king?"

 

She blinked, then smiled and leaned back, "Hm. Leonard- oh, sorry, _Captain Cold-_ probably wouldn't be too mad if I told you. But he gets sensitive when he doesn't get to talk first. I'd rather not risk having to hear him whine about it."

 

Barry felt strangely at ease as they waited for the other two kidnappers to show, "No offense, but you and Supergirl... you both seem a little different from uh..."

 

"From our beloved Captain? Yeah, I know. But he pays. Me and her could both use the money. And not to ruin the suspense or anything, but we're not going to kill you or anything. Cold's dramatic and a jerk, but he's got some weird sense of morality," she sniffed and tucked some loose hair back into her hood, "Most of the time."

 

Before Barry could ask another question, Supergirl dropped Cold between them and the swordswoman. He adjusted his fur-lined coat and smirked at nothing in particular.

 

"Looks like our friend couldn't make it. But, just in case," he grabbed Barry by the forearm and pulled them up, "C'mon. We gotta keep moving. Hey, Rose, you stay behind in case they ever get here."

 

She stood up and leaned on one hip, pulling out her sword and curling her lip, "I know you know that isn't my name."

 

To Barry's surprise, Cold just smirked bigger, "Try not to die. I'm not paying a corpse, whatever your name is."

 

Supergirl picked up Barry in her arms again, though her feet stayed on the ground this time. She shrugged down at them as she walked after Cold. Barry looked over her shoulder and saw the swordswoman with her back to them, leaning on her drawn rapier and staring out over the cliff. Something about the sword's handle was oddly familiar, just as the woman was, but both became harder and harder to see as Barry was carried away.

 

-

 

The swordswoman stretched her neck from side to side. She rolled her shoulders. The sea air was a bit cold, even all the way up there as the day was beginning to lighten the sky. She sighed, then shook the hood off her head and stayed standing in place. A minute later, she muttered and walked towards the edge of the cliff. There was no tear in space below her, only the small shape of the boat where they had left it tied up.

 

"It's weird how people never think to look behind them."

 

She spun around, her right heel brushing dangerously close to the edge. She pointed her sword at the man sitting comfortably on the short pillar behind her. His black hair was tied back into a bun, his mask was black, his clothes were black. He smiled and waved, then slipped from the pillar and landed on his feet. There was no sword at his side. The woman did not put away her own. He continued talking, palms held out calmly.

 

"I'm guessing you're a really good fighter."

 

The woman began to walk closer, and they both fell into step as they circled each other, "A pretty good guess, since I'm famous for beating every duelist in the southern countryside."

 

The man in black remained friendly, "Wow. Nobody's ever beaten me in a fight either. This should be interesting. I mean, I'll win, but I'm kind of planning on cheating."

 

She looked unimpressed, "Isn't that how it always works with you supervillains?"

 

He blanched at that, "Hey, excuse me, who said I was a bad guy? You're the one in the middle of a kidnapping."

 

"Trust me, we're doing the Flash a favor," she paused for just a moment before continuing her pacing, "Hold on. Are you from the royal guard or not? Who are you?

 

"I'm just me. Wait, why would I be on the royal guard if I was a supervillain?"

 

She lunged forward, hoping to take advantage of the moment of confusion, but the man held a hand out and the sword passed through a tear in space instead of his shoulder. He looked unbothered, though still curious. She had no interest in killing him, but making sure to land only non-lethal strikes was already hard enough. She grimaced.

 

"The king isn't the hero he wants everyone to think he is. Let's just put it at that," they were both done circling each other. She lunged repeatedly and each time he blocked with a dimensional hole that led the point of the sword safely away. She began attacking in earnest, if only hoping to tire him out.

 

"You really are pretty good at this."

 

"So are you. At least defensively. Offensively, you're being a little uncreative, don't you think?"

 

He tilted his head, then nodded, "Oh, you mean-" and this time when she lunged forward, the sword entered a hole in front of his heart and now emerged from a hole a foot from her forehead, "that kind of thing. I'm into killing as much as you seem to be. So; not at all. I'm serious."

 

She smiled, "At least you're decent about cheating."

 

He shrugged, guilty, "Not everyone is great with a sword."

 

Her eyes hardened slightly, "Not everyone has a reason to be."

 

"And what's your reason? Revenge?" his posture stayed relaxed, though the levity no longer reached his voice,

 

She made a few more strikes, and he continued blocking them, "Is it obvious?"

 

"It's in style. A supervillain?"

 

"A woman killed my father. She had ice powers, kind of like Captain Cold. I originally tracked him down just so I could ask if he knew her."

 

"Do you have any other leads?"

 

"Only that her name's Killerfrost. She has bright white hair and eyes. I've been looking for years, but one day I know I'll find her. And I'm going to say, 'I'm Iris West. You killed my father, Joe West. I don't kill, but for you I'll make an exception.'"

 

The man's eyes widened under his mask, and a gentler smile came to his face, "Your name is Iris West?"

 

"Yes, why?"

 

"I think we have a close friend in common. And I'm sorry for this, but I have to go meet them. We'll see each other again though. You can be mad at me then," and before she could understand, she lunged reflexively not into a small tear in space that simply blocked her sword, but into a hole that must have been eight feet in diameter. A hand against her back pushed her forward and through it completely, and before she could turn around, the hole had closed behind her. She was back on the shore at the base of the cliffs, alone, the water rocking the boat where it had been left behind.

 

-

 

Supergirl was waiting for the man in black in an open field, sitting bored and idle on a boulder sunk into the tall grass. She perked up and rose into the early morning sky as soon as he appeared out of the ruins of the cliffs. His eyebrows lifted at the sight of her hovering several feet off the ground, but otherwise he made no remark as he continued walking. She dove down and drifted by him, face peering curiously at his own, before smiling and landing in front of him.

 

"You're younger than I thought. It's weird how much a mask can hide, isn't it?"

 

He stopped to look at her for an explanation. She startled, as if remembering something important.

 

"Oh!" she tapped the side of her head, "X-ray vision. Sorry, but the mask thing doesn't really work on me."

 

He grinned, both amused and impressed, "Cool. I gotta go though."

 

He continued walking past her and she jogged to his side, hands folded comfortably behind her back.

 

"You didn't kill my friend back there, right?"

 

"No. But she will have to climb back up that cliff if she wants to catch me again."

 

"Yikes. She's gonna totally hate that."

 

"Yeah, but ideally she won't catch me."

 

"Yeah, about that-" she moved to stand in front of him again. She raised her hands up, an apologetic shrug. His shoulders slumped.

 

"Aw, c'mon."

 

"Part of the job. And trust me, you'd rather stay here with me than go mess with Captain Cold."

 

"Captain Cold? That's the guy with the Flash right now?"

 

"Yep. Kind of a jerk, to be honest. But he pays."

 

The man in black put his hands in his pockets, "And you'd help kidnap someone just for money?"

 

"Dude, don't do that. Don't guilt me. I need the Flash's help if I'm ever gonna get home, okay? And I can't ask for their help if they're busy being the king's toy soldier."

 

"Home?"

 

"I'm not even from this dimension. I'm just trying to find my way back, and once we get to a safe distance the Flash might be able to- uh, nevermind. You don't need to know. I should really be fighting you right now instead of talking."

 

And with that she jumped at him faster than he could block, and picked him up by the waist. The man in black found himself thrown over her shoulder. He watched the ground as it rushed away from under her feet.

 

"Sorry, this probably isn't very comfortable. I'm just gonna fly around for awhile until I know Cold is far away enough that you won't be able to catch him. I guess an hour?"

 

The hand on his back was too strong to move against, and even so they were only getting higher and higher. To fall from this height would likely be the last thing he ever did. The view of the ground swerved and was replaced by the horizon as Supergirl manuevered so her body was parallel to the ground. The ocean was still visible from this distance, the morning already growing blue instead of gold and pink.

 

"There. That way all the blood won't rush to your head. Hey, can I ask you something?"

 

The man sighed and rested his head against her back, ignoring the helpless way his legs were now dangling over her shoulder in the wind, "Sure. What's up?"

 

"Do those portals of yours only work at certain distances?"

 

"It depends. It's easier to do short intervals, but if I know the frequency of something, someone, I can track them for a long time," he was pleasantly surprised. Usually people only asked very general questions like, _How do your powers work?_ Or _Who are you?_

"And is that all you do? Portals?"

 

"Whoa, whoa. First of all I can do plenty. Secondly, it's my turn to ask a question."

 

She huffed, "Fine."

 

"What did you do in your own world? Still kidnapping?"

 

" _No._ I was an assistant to a witch. But also sometimes I did hero stuff too. But don't tell anyone. Uh, from my world, at least. If you ever meet someone from there for some reason. Okay, now; why are you after the Flash? Are you their arch-nemesis or something?"

 

"Uh. Pass on that question."

 

"What! Who said we could do passes?"

 

"It's personal! Ask me something else."

 

"... Could you use your powers to bring me back to my world?"

 

"Yeah," he felt the muscles on her back tense, "It would actually be pretty easy, if you could help me figure out what world it was. There's a lot of them to pick from. I'll do it, if you let me go."

 

They both hung in the air in silence, and then she answered quietly, "No. I already promised I'd do this job. Thank you, though."

 

"Okay," he waited for the muscles to relax again, but they didn't, "Do you have any other powers than flying and super strength and seeing through my disguises?"

 

"Oh totally, check this out-" he heard her exhale and suddenly the air cooled. He shivered and she laughed, joyful as she sped up a little to drift them into warmer air again. Her back was looser now.

 

"Ice breath?"

 

"Yeah! Oh, I guess I have to ask again. I already said it earlier, but do you have other powers?"

 

"Yeah. But you're not gonna like the answer," and before she could do anything, he put his hand between her shoulder blades and a tremor passed through her whole body. They both fell several feet before she managed to right herself slightly, but even then they continued to fall in jarring drops.

 

"What did you do? Hey! This isn't cool!" another reeling descent, and now they were only a few yards from the ground, "I don't feel good. This isn't good."

 

She set him down with shaky arms once they were a foot above the grass, and then stumbled to her feet before falling backwards. The man in black watched her, a guilty wrinkle in his forehead.

 

"It's not permanent. I just figured out your frequency while we were talking and then... well, your body is pretty confused by the vibrations I put through it. It's gonna take awhile for it to readjust itself."

 

She glared at him in between her deep breathing. He winced.

 

"I'm sorry! I really do have to go, or else I wouldn't have done it. But I'll make it up to you later, okay? Find me again, and I'll get you home. I promise," he turned, ready to head off, but she called him back.

 

"Hey!"

 

"What?"

 

"You're not... You're not gonna hurt the Flash, right? You're not with the King?"

 

"Why does everyone keep asking that? But no, I'm not gonna hurt the Flash. Or even Cold if I can help it. At least not permanently."

 

She sighed, and her breathing seemed to ease as she leaned her head against a bent knee, "Okay. If you were evil, I'd fight you no matter what, but I feel better about letting you go now."

 

He let himself smile before leaving, small and tentative, "See ya, Supergirl."

 

"Yeah, yeah, see you around. Get out of here."

 

-

 

The sun was already hanging at its peak height, and it was the middle of a beautiful day. Lines of light rippled through the tall grass as the wind blew across the rolling fields. Captain Cold and the tall silhouette of someone next to him paused in the distance of the narrow footpath, as the masked man stepped through one last fraying tear in the air behind him.

 

Cold waited for him to approach. The braces were no longer on the Flash's ankles, but Cold's hand on the back of the Flash's neck had replaced them as a threat. He looked pleased with himself.

 

"How many more of those portals do you have left in you?"

 

The masked man shrugged, "Not many."

 

"You must be tired."

 

"I am. So I'd like this to be quick."

 

Cold's eyes narrowed, amused and polished, "So would I. If you can hand me a bigger ransom than either King Solomon or King Thawne would offer, then this could all end right now."

 

"A ransom? That's all this is?"

 

Cold's grin soured, "As much as I hate dealing with both of them, being noble only pays if you're royal. The rest of us can't live off of being heroes."

 

"Your friends made it sound like you were doing this out of some sort of kindness in your heart."

 

"I might have told them what they wanted to hear. They like getting paid but they don't like knowing where the money really comes from. Typical."

 

The masked man risked a glance at the Flash, and saw that they were looking off into the fields, eye caught by some cattle grazing. They had no interest in the conversation at hand, in the two men chatting over their kidnapping. He turned back to Cold.

 

"So what did you tell the two of them?"

 

A huge, put-upon sigh; "That King Zolomon's hero squad only exists to get wiped out every month in fights with Zoom, so the king can say he's too busy with the threat to do anything actually meaningful for the country. Thawne doesn't even bother with a pretense, although it would be difficult to convince anyone he's a good guy after he killed King Wells to get the throne in the first place. I told my," a smile twisted Cold's face, " _friends_ that the Flash would be better off taken to Star Kingdom to join the league of heroes they have there. But honestly, the real plan was to wait for a deal from Zolomon or negotiate one with Thawne."

 

Cold shook the Flash as if to get their opinion on any of this revelation, but they just sighed and continued looking away. The masked man's face was carefully friendly.

 

"Well, I don't have any money."

 

"Hm."

 

"And there's no contest of wit or strength or something you'd let me challenge you to?"

 

"No."

 

The man in the mask put his hands on his hips, and then sat down on the ground. He took a deep breath. Captain Cold tilted his head to appraise him, suspicious.

 

"You're not asthmatic, are you?"

 

"No. I just need to rest a bit if I'm gonna get out of here before Zoom shows up."

 

"Cute. Trying to scare me. But I'm not buying it."

 

The masked man stretched his legs out, "No joke. Part of my powers is occasionally seeing little pieces of the future, or the past or present. Right now, I'm seeing that Zoom is gonna show up at this exact spot looking for whoever took the Flash. So I guess I should be glad you're not handing them over."

 

Cold continued glaring at him.

 

"I mean, I can just disappear into a portal. But you, you're going to be stuck here. I guess you could probably try freezing him. Cold's good against speed, right? But yikes, imagine if you're not cold _enough_ and he escapes? And then he'd just be even more pissed-"

 

"Stop."

 

The masked man stopped talking. He looked up from where he had been touching his toes. Captain Cold looked like he was considering murdering him. Instead, as if the whole thing suddenly bored him, he removed his hand from the Flash's neck and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a key, and used it to flick open the braces over the Flash's wrists. They fell heavy to the ground. The Flash did not move except to rub the soreness out of their arms. Captain Cold looked to the man sitting on the ground.

 

"Happy?"

 

"Yeah. But you better leave now if you want to get away in time."

 

Cold stared at him a few seconds longer, before putting his hands in his pockets and walking away with a natural pace, "Yeah, yeah."

 

"Seriously, I'd hurry!"

 

Without looking back, Cold waved the advice away. The masked man scrambled to his feet and called after him.

 

"And I didn't kill your friends!"

 

"Thanks!" sarcastic, "I didn't ask!"

 

The Flash didn't turn to watch Cold leave. They didn't disappear. They didn't even move. The masked man watched Cold become smaller and smaller in the distance, and waited for the Flash to look at him. They didn't.

 

"Uh-"

 

"What?" they sounded tired, and angry.

 

"I- um," his eyes flicked to find Cold, already out of earshot despite his slow pace, "Well, Zoom's not actually coming, in case you were worried."

 

The exhaustion on their face lightened grudgingly, then settled again. They closed their eyes. Their jaw set. They did not say anything.

 

"Hey, you okay?"

 

Finally, they looked at him, though only from the side of their eyes. Even with the mask, they looked furious.

 

"I know who you are."

 

The man in the mask flinched, his hand moving from his face to his hair pulled tight into a bun, "Oh! You do?"

 

"You're Reverb. The supervillain. You killed a man named Cisco Ramon three years ago."

 

The man's hand fell back to his side, and after a brief shock clear on his face, he gave a single drawn-out nod, with a much more drawn-out 'oh' than before.

 

And then, unforgivably, he laughed. The Flash bared their teeth at him.

 

"You're disgusting."

 

He stopped laughing to look up to the Flash, who had turned to face him directly. To Reverb's surprise, they ripped off their mask and threw it at his feet. The gold lightning emblem on the side of it caught the midday light, regal and pointless.

 

"The only reason I'm still here is to ask you; why?"

 

Reverb shrugged, prodding the mask with his foot to see that it had the emblem of the King on the forehead. It clearly had been made by the royal tailor.

 

"Hey, what happened to the original Flash costume?"

 

"What- who cares? Cut the act and tell me, why did you kill Cisco Ramon?"

 

Another shrug, another prod at the mask, "He was kind of annoying."

 

There was no angry response to that, and Reverb finally looked at the unmasked hero's face. He noted the hollow expression that had replaced the brief anger, the bags under their watery eyes, the tightness in their mouth. They seemed to be seeing something very far away. Their voice wasn't demanding anymore. It was quiet. They seemed to speak aloud only on a whim.

 

"I guess I was still hoping you'd say you didn't kill him. That he was still alive somewhere."

 

Reverb stared at the Flash a few moments longer. There was no smirk or comeback. He only looked on, searching for something in the hard grimace and distant eyes before shaking his head.

 

"What was even so great about him?"

 

The Flash glanced at him, too tired to properly glare, before returning to stare ahead of them. They spoke as if to someone else who wasn't there.

 

"He was smart. And he knew it and would joke about it but he was never- he was always down to earth about it, deep down. And kind. And he," the hero faltered, "He must have saved my life a million times. I wouldn't have been able to help a tenth of the people I did without him... He was with me, every time. Every day. And I... I..."

 

"You what?"

 

"It doesn't matter," their voice had gone cold again, "You killed him. It only mattered when he was alive. A lot of things did."

 

"And what, he died so you just quit?"

 

The Flash turned to him with abrupt fury back in place, "It was hard enough to just wake up in the morning! I was all alone again! I needed him and he was gone! And go the hell! You're the one who killed him!"

 

"So why don't you do something about it?"

 

There was a burst of red and Reverb found himself lifted off the dirt, the Flash's hand white-knuckled around his collar. The deep slope of the hill waited innocently behind him.

 

"Maybe I should," they growled in his face, and then Reverb was thrown to the flat ground, "But I won't. It won't bring him back. Nothing will. So get out of this dimension, and don't ever come back. I never want to see you again."

 

They turned their back on him and began to walk away. The man's voice called after him politely.

 

"Of course, Buttercup."

 

Quietly, more to themself than to anyone else, Barry murmured:

 

"Cisco?"

 

They turned around to see the masked man already stepping through a portal, though he had turned back for one last look. He shrugged.

 

"Sorry. I'd love to stay, but someone just asked me to leave and I'd hate to disappoint them."

 

And he almost stepped entirely out of the world before Barry sped forward and swept him up in their arms, with a clumsy and eager speed that sent them both tumbling wildly down the rolling hill as the portal snapped out of existence. Barry's arms folded around his body and only held tighter after every bump. Patches of red fabric littered the hillside once the two of them reached the bottom. A single black mask had landed on a rock and fluttered in the warm breeze like a flag before blowing away.

 

They laid there in the grass. Cisco held still, waiting for Barry to move away first, but the arms stayed wrapped around him. The side of Barry's head pressed to the side of his. Cisco breathed in and felt his chest press against theirs. He felt bruises and scratches all over his body, and the grass was wet where it pressed against his back. Barry pushed their forehead into his shoulder.

 

"How?"

 

Cisco lifted a hand, and after a small pause, put it on the back of Barry's neck. He brushed his fingers against the short hair at the nape, and let go of the breath he was holding. Again, their chests swelled and touched. Barry suddenly pushed themself up, so Cisco's hand fell away, and there was a space between their bodies.

 

"Dude, why? Why didn't you tell me? How are you- How are you here right now? Cisco, I thought you died! Why didn't you tell me?"

 

Barry was still quick to tears. Cisco smiled, tired and guilty without a mask anymore, with his hair loose again and fanned out in the grass. He tried to sound light.

 

"I kind of just thought... you'd moved on?"

 

Barry froze, and then they shook their head and rolled off of Cisco, who was now free to sit up. They sniffed.

 

"You're unbelievable."

 

"Barry-"

 

They rubbed their eyes, and annoyance had already replaced most of the grief in their voice, "You know, for a genius... you really have the worst ideas."

 

Cisco sat up, and they both leaned back on their hands, and looked up at the sky instead of each other. Cisco searched for a cloud or way to explain. There was so much to say about how he was still alive, about the years he had spent thinking about everything he'd tell Barry about when they saw each other again. He'd imagined coming home and after an emotional reunion, they'd sit outside the farm and watch the sun go down as they always did, except now they would have so much catching up to do that they'd talk until the sun rose all the way back up again. He would tell Barry what he could not bring himself to say before. They'd fall asleep in the middle of the next day. They'd wake up in the same house as each other, for the first time in a long while.

 

It would take time to explain how he was still alive, but it would be simple. It would be complicated to explain _why_ he had not told Barry as soon as they were alone, or why he had almost disappeared through a tear in space a minute ago as if it were all a joke. It would be complicated to say that he'd come home to find it empty, the farm sold. Barry had agreed to join the king's league of meta-humans. The earth had continued turning while he had been gone. It seemed possible he was not missed and never even needed. It was easier to play at being distant, unbothered. How could he say out loud what he had assumed? The words caught in the throat.

 

Barry's voice had become surprisingly even, as if it was just another day, when it interrupted his thinking.

 

"How long have you had superpowers?"

 

"That's actually kind of part of how I'm still alive. You see, the real Reverb grabbed me and-" Cisco eyes wandered to the top of the hill and he stopped talking. He had a vision of a man in grey standing there, looking down on them.

 

"We have to go."

 

"What? Why?"

 

"Turns out that Zoom guy really is gonna get here soon," Cisco stood up and offered his hand, "I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as I can, but for now- do you trust me?"

 

Barry's eyes searched his face. Cisco's hand began to feel unsteady hanging alone in the air, and then they grabbed it. Cisco pulled them up.

 

"Yeah. I'll follow you anywhere, man."

 

\---

 

The sun was setting, in a beautiful empty countryside with a single path running through the grass, when a monster appeared. He stood on the top of a hill and said nothing. The size of a human, yet so much bigger in ways other than size, in dark grey leather that stretched over him like the skin of something that lived in deep waters. A single breath rose and sunk in his chest, and then he was gone again.

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you think cattle calmly grazing in the scenic countryside would like...... KNOW to be afraid of zoom or would they just not care


	4. Chapter 4

Barry carried Cisco in their arms, through the gently sloped ravine they'd fallen down and into the woods that lay nearby. It happened in a burst of color. One second Cisco was pulling Barry to their feet and the next he was jostled against Barry's chest as they stumbled and stepped backward away from a burst of fire from the ground. The sky overhead had been replaced with the sick and gnarled branches of looming trees. The only other plant life were gray shrubs that clawed their way out of the earth and looked sharp to the touch. There was a humidity in the air that suggested still water nearby. Barry regained their footing and looked suspiciously at the fissure in the ground that had just spit flames at their feet. Cisco found himself with his arms clutched around Barry's neck.

 

"Uh, Cisco? This wouldn't be that Fire Swamp place, would it?"

 

Cisco loosened his arms, and pushed gently at Barry's shoulder to indicate he wanted to be put down. Barry set him on his feet, and he knelt to the ground. He let the tips of his fingers brush the dirt, and he flinched back immediately, settling on his heels.

 

"I guess I didn't really need to vibe to know that, but. Yeah. This place is bad news. But hey," he stood back up, "we're two superheroes. We can handle an ecosystem."

 

There was a pause between them at the shrill cry of something inhuman screaming in the distance, as well as the rushing sound of another fissure bursting into flame. Barry sighed and rubbed their neck.

 

"About that. You still haven't explained, you know... the 'vibe' thing..."

 

"Oh, oh yeah. Uh, I'll explain as we go. You should probably let me lead for now, I can vibe our way out of here," Cisco began to hold out his hand, dropped it for a moment as if thinking better of it, and then held it out again. Barry hesitated (so many pauses and hesitations between them now that had never existed before) before taking it. Their hand held on loosely, and Cisco forced a tight smile before stepping carefully around the fissure.

 

"Reverb did drag me through the portal, that part is true. But... okay, this is gonna sound really weird, but he's me? Like he's from an entirely different dimension, and there I'm him. I mean, I'm not him, but we're the same person. I mean- he's sort of like my evil twin."

 

Barry said nothing as they followed behind him. Cisco took a deep breath.

 

"And he wasn't interested in killing me. He wanted me to team up with him, to show me how to use the powers I'd gotten from the falling star. You know how I... I left because of those really strong feelings I kept getting? That was part of it. My powers were trying to get me to leave, to go and find Reverb so I could learn how to use them."

 

Barry's voice was dry, "So, what, you and your evil twin became best friends?"

 

"No, it was more like he kidnapped me and told me every night that he'd probably kill me the next morning if he felt like it. Barry-" Cisco turned around, slowing down to a stop to keep from walking into a fissure or tree, "If I could have left any sooner, I would have."

 

"So why now?"

 

"Zoom killed Reverb. I escaped."

 

Barry stared down at their hand linked in Cisco's, standing at a distance so that their arms stretched out taut between the two of them. They blinked, and shook their head slightly.

 

"Was there another... Was there another me there?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Hm," Barry nodded absently, then began to walk forward. Cisco ended up following them as they moved through the trees.

 

"But I never met them. They wouldn't really have been you, Buttercup-"

 

"Don't! Don't do that. Don't call me that."

 

A tug at Barry's hand, forcing them to turn around to see that Cisco had stopped again, " Why, what's up? Do you not like that anymore? Wait, are you still mad at me?"

 

"No, I'm just-" Barry pulled their hand away and crossed their arms, "I don't know. We haven't seen each other for three years and then you just show up alive and act like nothing's changed but- I thought you were dead. And I don't know what you went through or how you felt but, that's kind of the point. I don't... I don't know you anymore."

 

Cisco stepped forward, and flinched when Barry stepped back; it felt like deja vu, "Butter- Barry, I thought about you, every day. I know things are different, and if that's too much for you... I understand. But I swear, despite everything else, the way I feel about you hasn't changed. "

 

Barry ducked their head, and Cisco's shoulders relaxed as they stepped toward him, just a small step, "And uh... how do you, you know, feel about me?"

 

Cisco's eyes couldn't leave Barry's hopeful face as he shook his head and broke into a soft beaming grin, almost a laugh, "Barry, I... I-"

 

He was interrupted by a gorilla tackling him.

 

"Cisco!"

 

The gorilla had thankfully been more interested in grabbing him than in crushing him to death, and it lifted Cisco above the ground by the neck of his shirt. It inspected him with narrowing eyes as he spun gently in the air. Cisco looked at Barry pleadingly from the corners of his eyes, too worried to turn his head.

 

"Uh. Hey. Do something, please."

 

Barry stopped looking dazed and jumped, "Oh! Oh yeah, sorry-"

 

They began running in circles around the gorilla, who noted them with calm interest instead of panic. It didn't take the simple bait of trying to grab them, and Cisco groaned when he realized who they were likely dealing with.

 

"You wouldn't happen to be a Gorilla Recently Offered Decisive Discernment, would you?"

 

The gorilla looked away from the red blur circling it and studied Cisco again with an uncannily human tilt to its head. It spoke so roughly that it was almost mistaken for a grunt rather than a word.

 

"Grodd."

 

The blur stopped, and Barry looked at the gorilla with surprise, "Did you just talk?"

 

Another rough word: "Yes."

 

"Uh. Cool? Could you put down my friend? We have to go."

 

"No."

 

Cisco scowled, "What? Dude, why?"

 

"Grodd... needs humans..."

 

Barry's face softened, "Why? Are you in trouble?"

 

"Need humans... for dissections... for science."

 

"Oh, _hell_ no. Barry, get ready to catch me and run."

 

Before Barry could ask or Grodd could stop him, Cisco raised his hand towards the gorilla's wrist. Nothing appeared to happen, except Grodd began howling in pain and dropped Cisco. He fell into Barry's waiting arms.

 

Grodd's angry yelling fell far behind them as Barry ran. They sidestepped fissures spitting fire, ducked under trees, and after a moment of splashing panic, managed to run across a body of muddy and unsavory looking swamp water. Cisco gave up on trying to pay attention to any of it and just pressed his face into Barry's shoulder and hoped for the best.

 

"Cisco?"

 

He pulled his face away. Barry was breathing fast, and the world was stopped around them, no longer rushing past. They were at the edge of the forest. A creek ran quiet close by. Barry collapsed onto their knees, still holding Cisco.

 

"Hey, Bear? Barry, are you okay?"

 

"Yeah... I just... I haven't eaten in awhile. I don't think I can run anymore until I do."

 

"I know what you mean. Breaking Grodd's wrist just now took everything I had left. We're gonna have to make a camp and stay here for the night."

 

Barry grinned despite still having trouble breathing, "What? Like normal people?"

 

Cisco smiled, head aching but feeling better than he had in years, lying across Barry's lap, joking like this was normal, "Yeah. It sucks."

 

"We should probably find some wood and start a fire," Barry's hand started stroking his hair, and Cisco hummed and closed his eyes. That part and the lap thing wasn't exactly normal for them. That part was new.

 

"Yeah. And we should find some food too."

 

"And we probably want to do that before it gets dark out." A stressful concern; the day was already turning blue at the edges as the sun disappeared.

 

"Yeah. But, you know, logically, we should just stay here and get our breath back a little bit," Cisco ignored the fact that Barry's breathing had already evened out.

 

"Cisco."

 

He opened his eyes and saw Barry looking down at him. Their voice came out soft. Turning blue at the edges.

 

"I'm sorry. About saying I don't know you anymore."

 

Cisco butted his head into their hand and it slipped from his hair to his cheek, "It's ok. I get it. But I'm here now. You can get to know me again, if you want."

 

"I do. I'm glad you're here."

 

"Me too."

 

Barry opened their mouth to say something else, but they were both distracted by a sudden glare of red light from above. They looked up to see a man on fire falling slowly from the darkening sky, completely at ease. He landed in front of them, his feet touching down softly despite the way they burned the surrounding grass and daisies to ash. He smiled. It was not a comforting smile.

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is just one long solid 'we need to talk about our relationship' trek through the woods


	5. Chapter 5

"Flash! There you are. The king's been worried about you."

 

"Deathstorm," was the only greeting Barry gave, although it was more of a muttered sign of recognition. The man sighed, feigning offense.

 

"Yeah, don't be grateful or anything. I'm gonna let the king know you're here," he raised a hand and a flare flew from it. It spread and burned into the shape of a skull once it was high enough, and then fizzed out. Cisco looked back to Barry, whose face had set coldly and stayed fixed on the burning man.

 

"You know this guy?"

 

"He's one of the King's royal guard."

 

"You work with a guy named _Deathstorm_?"

 

"Worked. I don't plan on going back."

 

Deathstorm's glance sharpened at hearing that, "That's something you'll have to tell the King. Can't imagine what would make you give up the throne though. Don't tell me it's this guy in your- wait. Is that," his face lit up cruelly, "Reverb? Oh, Flash. Don't tell me that it only took a day for you to fall in with a villain. I didn't know you had it in you."

 

Before either Barry or Cisco could respond, a concerned voice spoke from behind them.

 

"Flash? What's this I'm hearing about villains?"

 

Cisco had just enough time to turn around and see a tall blond man walking towards them, before he found himself picked up and pushed into Deathstorm. He was thankfully no longer on fire, but his grip on Cisco's arms was strong. Cisco watched as the new man pulled Barry up by the arm, firm but not rough, and helped them to their feet. Barry's legs shook; they were still exhausted from the day.

 

"Your Highness, I was kidnapped-"

 

"By Reverb. And I see you lost your mask too. Save your energy, Barry, you don't need to explain. It's obvious," the man, the King apparently, gave Cisco a disapproving glance before placing a supportive hand against Barry's shoulder. Cisco noted the way that Barry's body seemed to wither under it, and swallowed. He noted that he was suddenly very angry. Barry continued speaking.

 

"Your Majesty, I was kidnapped by three others and this man saved me, please, he's not Reverb, he's an old friend-"

 

"Barry. I know this is painful to hear, but this man looks exactly like the witness descriptions of Reverb, who I don't need to tell you is a renowned murderer. If he was an old friend, I assure you that he isn't anymore."

 

Deathstorm laughed, a hot breath on the back of Cisco's head, as Barry pleaded, "No! No, he was kidnapped by Reverb, they're twins, they're doppelgangers, please, I can't explain it well but-" Cisco reflexively tried to pull out of Deathstorm's grip when he saw the tears in Barry's eyes, "please, I swear-"

 

"Barry."

 

Barry stopped talking. The king put a hand on their shoulder.

 

"You are very tired, and very disoriented. I don't know what lies this man told you, or what lies his cohorts might have told you when they kidnapped you for him, but he is Reverb. Now tell me; is there any way you can prove to me, to a court, that he isn't?"

 

Barry's chest heaved with panic, and their voice was desperate but quieter, "His name is Cisco."

 

The king looked down at them pityingly, and shook his head. He called out to Deathstorm.

 

"Execute Reverb. It's unfortunate that we cannot put him on trial, but I'm afraid we won't have another chance like this to apprehend him if he escapes. I'm going to take the Flash back to the castle so they can rest, and get away from his influence."

 

Deathstorm presumably nodded behind Cisco, who was half focused on planning a way to survive and half memorizing Barry's face for what might be the last bit of time left. Barry was looking back at him. Cisco smiled weakly. This could be the last time, this could be the last time. Barry did not smile back. Their face turned angry.

 

"Wait!" Barry yelled, and the king paused, "I have no intention of going back with you unless you free Reverb at the border. If you kill him, I'll never go back to the castle. I'd rather stay here and die of exposure."

 

Both the king and Cisco began to speak, "Barry-"

 

"No! I'm serious. Find yourself another heir, unless you swear to me that you'll let him live. Please, I promise he won't hurt anyone, I'll never see him again, just exile him. Just- just let him live."

 

The king looked at them, then closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, "You have my word. I hope your trust in this villain doesn't backfire, Flash."

 

Barry's eyes didn't move from Cisco, even as the king grabbed them by both of their arms, "It won't."

 

Cisco wanted to say something, but a horrible dread was crawling up his throat at the suspicion that the king's word meant very little. It was Barry's turn to smile weakly at him.

 

"Cisco, I should have told you this years ago, but-"

 

And then they and the king were gone, disappearing faster than Cisco had ever seen Barry move. They were probably already halfway back to the castle by now. Cisco felt Deathstorm's hot laughter on the back of his neck again.

 

"That was beautiful. Wasn't it, sweetheart?"

 

Cisco's face twisted, confused, as he wondered if Deathstorm was referring to him, before noticing a woman stepping out from behind a tree at the edge of the woods. Her hair was bright white. The air temperature seemed to cool, despite the heat of the man behind him. He felt a sort of bitter confidence about at least one thing in his life. He smirked at her.

 

"Killerfrost?"

 

Cisco felt Deathstorm's fingers tighten, but to the woman's credit, she didn't even flinch. Her eyebrows only shot up as she sauntered forward.

 

"Look at that. I'm more popular than I thought," she grasped Cisco's chin and her long fingernails scratched at his skin like icicles, "which is impressive, considering the king won't let me out anymore when the new hero is around."

 

Cisco lifted his head, to look her square in the eye and also to move away from her touch.

 

"A friend of mine is looking for you."

 

And then he was knocked out.

 

-

 

"-I love you."

 

Barry found themself saying it to an empty room. They looked around and recognized it as their room at the castle; the oversized bed, the heavy curtains, the patterned rug, the giant varnished doors with guards on the other side. The simple chest from home against the wall, with their old clothes still inside. The king had already disappeared. They were alone. Cisco was miles and miles away.

 

They fell across the bed. There was no energy left for anything, not even tears. They fell asleep.

 

-

-

-

 

Cisco opened up his eyes and saw a cavernous stone ceiling above him. His eyes burned, his throat felt dry and acidic. He was lying across a table, with his wrists and ankles bound to it and already sore. If he turned his head, he could see how large the room was, and the tables and shelves full of bizarre metal instruments and jars of sickly red things suspended in liquid. Cisco let his head fall back on the table.

 

"Well. This is bad."

 

"Oh, you think?"

 

He recognized Killerfrost's voice without having to look around, "What's up with you and appearing out of nowhere?"

 

There was the click of heels on stone, and then her face loomed over his. Her hair fell and swung gently like a white curtain over his head. He looked closer at her, past the pale eyes and dark make-up.

 

"You look a lot like my friend Caitlin."

 

She sneered, "Don't call me that."

 

Deathstorm's head appeared across from hers, as he leaned over the other side of the table.

 

"This guy giving you trouble, babe?"

 

"Nothing I can't handle, darling."

 

They leaned over Cisco and kissed, and he clenched his eyes shut.

 

"As much I love being the third wheel to your evil torture date, I think I should leave you two lovebirds alone. I just need someone to unlock these clamps-"

 

"Evil?" Killerfrost pouted, "We're part of King Zolomon's _royal guard_ , how could we be evil? It's not like we're some sort of dimension-hopping killer, Reverb."

 

She laughed, and Deathstorm walked back out of view. Cisco heard the thin clink of small metal tools being picked up. Killerfrost continued talking, settling her elbows on the table.

 

"I guess you can't use vibrations to phase through things like your cute friend Flash can. Ugh, it was _such_ a pain trying to figure out how to stop that. Fortunately your kidnapper friend left behind those neat handcuffs of his."

 

Cisco internally winced, but kept his voice conversational, "What, you can't just freeze the Flash? Even Captain Cold could do that."

 

Her fingernail scratched a sharp line in his cheek, and the cut burned before becoming worryingly numb, "Honey, if I tried to freeze the Flash, they'd never thaw out."

 

Deathstorm's voice from out of view, where he was still browsing tools, "She's saying she'd kill 'em."

 

Cisco swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Reverb always stayed calm. Reverb didn't let the panic and fear show like Vibe did. Killerfrost pushed herself off the table and Cisco focused on the sound of her footsteps as she wandered around the room.

 

"You're not gonna ask us why we need the Flash alive?"

 

Cisco lied, "I'm more interested in what you plan on doing with me."

 

Deathstorm laughed, jovial and almost fraternal, "Isn't it obvious, buddy? We're dropping you off at the border so you can escape in exile, safe and alive at the mercy of our wonderful king."

 

Killerfrost's mockingly tragic voice joined him, "But you'll spend the rest of your life away from your beloved Flash, and no matter where you go, you'll live with the fact that your princess is off in another castle! You'll never see them again."

 

Deathstorm reappeared at Cisco's side, "Really though? We're probably just gonna remove all your organs and sell 'em."

 

"The part about never seeing the Flash again is true though."

 

Deathstorm tapped a incision knife against his nose, the metal burning, "Lucky for you, the king wants us to be present for the Flash's coronation. So we'll come back and kill you on like," he looked toward Killerfrost, "Monday? I guess?"

 

He looked back down at Cisco, concerned, "Does that work for you?"

 

And then he laughed.

 

-

 

That night, Supergirl found Iris asleep in the boat, still docked at the base of the cliffs where they'd left it. She knelt in the water and shook Iris's shoulder gently. She woke up and looked up at Supergirl, then closed her eyes and sighed.

 

"Hey, Kara. I'm guessing you also lost?"

 

"Yeah. And Leonard's disappeared. I guess he lost too."

 

Iris opened her eyes again and stared at the stars overhead. The boat rocked quietly in place, bumping up slightly against Kara's knees. She sounded distant and quiet.

 

"I guess that's not the worst news."

 

"I have even better news. You wanna hear it?"

 

Iris's mouth lifted at the corner, "Sure."

 

"I found Killerfrost. And a way for me to get back home. They're both in the same place."

 

Iris's eyes widened, but otherwise she didn't move, "What's the inevitable bad news?"

 

"She works with the king. My way home is in a torture chamber right now."

 

Iris stared at her for a few seconds more before her face slowly cracked into a grin. Her eyes glinted.

 

"We better get started then."

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay cards on the table but... i don't really remember what deathstorm is like but i remember he's on fire sometimes


	6. Chapter 6

Barry did not leave their room, except to wander the hallways at night when nobody but the guards were about. The coronation was in three days. They moved automatically; they ate and drank and slept and changed clothes without thinking. A red dress, not _the_ red dress but another by the royal tailor, was laid out on their writing desk. They'd wear it when they were crowned as heir. Amid all the emptiness they felt, seeing it produced a sharp pain in their side. They avoided looking toward that corner of the room.

 

They had been kneeling in front of the chest they'd brought from home, when someone knocked. Barry closed the lid with a nervous slam. They walked to the doors and unlocked them, pushing them open just enough to see the king outside. The hallway was deserted; the king would send the guards away whenever he visited so he could call the Flash by their name.

 

"Barry. Can I come in?"

 

Barry stood aside. The king entered, his hands folded behind his back as he looked thoughtfully at the floor. When he looked up, he was the picture of concern.

 

"You've been refusing lessons and training for the past few days. I assume you're still upset over the kidnapping."

 

Barry blinked, slow and disinterested. They didn't say anything. The king pursed his lips and nodded, disappointed.

 

"I promise you we will catch the three criminals who aided Reverb. You have nothing to fear; if anyone with ice powers ever tries to catch you again, Deathstorm will be there to stop them. He will accompany you every time you leave the castle now," the king brushed an idle hand over the wooden chest, and Barry twitched as if to move forward for a moment, "The horrible ideas Reverb gave you about running away with him- they'll disappear once you have time to calm down, to remember your place here."

 

The blankness in Barry's expression disappeared, and they raised their eyes from the floor to stare at the king with a focus that had been absent from their glance for days, "How did you know about the ice powers?"

 

"Hm? You told us. You said three people had kidnapped you, when we found you with Reverb-"

 

"I did. But I never said anything about ice."

 

The king sighed, and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand, "Of course. You didn't tell us that, the scout did. It's been such a stressful week... You see, we've been investigating Reverb for a long time, and we received word recently that he's been working with a certain Captain Cold. Does that name sound familiar?"

 

Barry nodded, face blank again. The king gave a relieved huff.

 

"Good, good. Sorry for the confusion there. But yes, we'll catch Cold and his lackeys soon-"

 

"If you do, your Highness, could you bring them here? I want to meet them all again."

 

"Barry... I would, but it could be dangerous bringing them here-"

 

Barry's eyebrows creased with fake worry, "I don't understand. Why would the king be afraid of three low-life criminals?"

 

Even with their super-speed perception, Barry hardly noticed the space of time between Zolomon standing on the other side of the room and suddenly inches from their face. Barry only lifted their chin defiantly as he leaned in to speak low.

 

"I'm not afraid. And I have been lenient with your disrespect, but it would do you good to remember that I am your king," he pulled away and sighed, "I would hope, as my heir, that you would come to think of me as your father-"

 

"But you're not. You're not my father. You'll never be half of what either of them or my mother were to me. And I promise you," Barry leaned forward, voice growing confident, "that you will never be the hero that Cisco Ramon is. No matter how much you lie to me and try to convince me he's a villain. I know who he is. I love him, and I always will, even if I never see him again."

 

King Zolomon's face, usually so peaceful and kindly, turned hard. He looked at Barry before grinning with such a severe serenity that Barry tensed, ready for a fight. The king only laughed softly.

 

"That's sweet, Barry. Stupid, but sweet."

 

And then he was gone. Barry made to follow, but found themself caught by the leg, and they fell hard to the stone floor. They looked behind them to see a familiar cuff around their ankle, this time linked to the thick iron leg of their heavy bed. They tried to budge it and the bed failed to move even an inch; on closer inspection, the iron legs were driven deep into the stone floor, and looked like they had been for quite awhile. The cuff must have been one last gift from Zolomon before he had left seconds ago.

 

Barry yelled wordlessly, knowing nobody would hear them.

 

-

 

When Zoom appeared in the torture chamber, Killerfrost and Deathstorm were using Cisco's stomach as a table while they played cards. They both stumbled to stand as the grey creature stalked towards them. Cisco wondered if he could escape while Zoom killed them, as he had done before with Reverb. Instead he watched as they stood aside to let Zoom approach the table. Cisco's breath quickened as Zoom ripped his mask off. Underneath was the same tall blond man from before. The king. He could hear a tray being knocked over as Deathstorm and Killerfrost desperately backed away. Zoom, Zolomon, the man leaned over him. Cisco trembled.

 

"You know what happens to heroes, Cisco?"

 

Cisco steeled himself enough to look into Zoom's eyes, despite the tremors still shaking his body. He said nothing.

 

Zoom's hand raised itself above his chest like an axe. It began vibrating so fast that it was only a shape, a ghost of a hand, before it pierced Cisco's heart.

 

The heart stopped.

 

-

 

_"Mom!"_

_Wally sounded terrified, and Francine paused in telling the story to lean forward and put her hand on top of his, "What is it, Wally?"_

_"Did Cisco just die? Did Cisco just get stabbed to death?"_

_Francine tried to look calm but fretted internally; she was sure that in her childhood book, the hero had died a bit gruesomely at this part as well; looking back she wondered if it was really appropriate for children, "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean for it to scare you-"_

_Wally sat up in bed, "No! No, I'm not scared. I just... Is that the end? Cisco can't die now, he never got to tell Barry that he loves them."_

_Francine was surprised for a moment, before she smiled gently, "It's alright, Wally. The story's not over yet. Heroes die all the time in your comics, right?"_

_Wally settled back against his pillows, looking sheepish, "Yeah. Yeah, they do, I guess."_

_"And you know what always happens."_

_He smiled, though there was still a nervous little line between his eyebrows that gave Francine a sliver of sadness to see, "They always come back."_

 

_-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when you're telling your kid a story based on a favorite story from your own childhood and then you remember it's weirdly violent


	7. Chapter 7

It was Iris's idea to find the torture chamber by wandering the king's woods listening for the sound of screams. Specifically, for Kara to use her super-hearing to listen while Iris made sure nobody asked them what they were doing wandering through royal property.

 

"Why here, though?"

 

"The king would probably want to keep the chamber close by," Iris frowned as she climbed over a fallen tree trunk that Kara simply hovered over, "Hey, how did you find out about this anyways?"

 

"After I recovered from that weird vibrating guy, I started flying around looking for Leonard. I never found him, but I overheard two patrol guards talking about Killerfrost and someone named... Deathstorm? Taking a prisoner back to the secret torture chamber. They sounded scared. The guards, not Killerfrost and Deathstorm."

 

"But what about the way back home?"

 

Kara dodged some hanging pine branches, "The prisoner might be that weird vibrating guy."

 

"Him?"

 

"He offered to help me, while we were fighting. But only if I agreed to let him go. I turned him down then, but he said if I found him again he'd still help me," she looked over her shoulder at Iris, "You don't mind a rescue mission, do you?"

 

Iris just smiled, "No. It's been a while since we've done something heroic. It sounds nice."

 

"And we can also steal some stuff."

 

Iris laughed, surprised, "Kara!"

 

"What? I'd rather pickpocket some jerk named Deathstorm instead of waiting around for Leonard to do it for us. We have to eat. Wait-"

 

She stopped abruptly in the air. Iris waited with a hand on the hilt of her sword. Kara was focused on something distant.

 

"I can hear voices, but they're echoing in a strange way... As if they're underground. Something about preparing for a coronation... Someone just said 'your majesty'. I think this might be it. Follow me, but stay low."

 

She sunk low to the ground, and Iris followed as quietly as she could. Kara drifted soundlessly over the branches and fallen leaves on the forest floor, and shot out a hand to stop Iris once they reached a small clearing. Kara then wordlessly picked her up, and rose slowly up to a high branch. She set Iris down and sat next to her, before pointing down at a thick grey tree below them. It grew alone in the clearing, with nothing but dirt surrounding it. Iris watched as a piece of the tree's trunk swung open like a door, but she didn't see anybody emerge. Only a grey shift in the air, that was so quick she must have imagined it.

 

"Kara-"

 

Kara lifted her hand again, still staring intently down at open door. Iris started hearing voices coming from within it, getting louder as if they were climbing upwards.

 

A man emerged, his muttering low enough that whatever he said was lost to the two of them. A woman with bright white hair followed after him, kicking the door closed behind her and clearly in a bad mood. Iris made to lunge forward, but Kara caught her by the shoulder with a strong hand. Iris watched her father's murderer bicker below her.

 

"Oh sure. Make me babysit the dead body. Maybe for our next date you can ditch me at a morgue."

 

The man rolled his eyes and sneered, "As if I really want to go back to the castle and deal with how pissed he's still gonna be. This coronation is gonna be a mess."

 

The woman crossed her arms and bared her teeth, before grinning, "I'll miss you, I guess."

 

The man smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her cheek, "Me too."

 

He took a few steps back before bursting into flame, and he shot up through the canopy. Charred leaves and embers fell slowly from the hole he left behind. The woman sighed and opened the hidden door, slamming it hard enough that it shook a few more leaves loose.

 

-

 

Barry laid on the floor of the bedroom with their limbs spread out. They heard the wooden doors creak open, and knew it was the guard bringing food as she had the day before. Barry did not look at her as she knelt to set down the tray of food just within reach.

 

"Help me get out of here."

 

She startled, though considerably less than the first time Barry had asked that. She stood back up, wiping her hands on the coat over her chainmail. Barry had never seen her eyes behind the unusually reflective helmet she wore.

 

"You know I can't do that, Flash."

 

Barry rolled their head to glare at her, "Look at me. I'm not wearing a mask. My name is Barry Allen. Don't call me 'Flash'."

 

"Don't tell me that! The king would kill me if he knew that I knew your name-"

 

"Relax," they went back to staring at the ceiling, "I won't tell if you won't."

 

She didn't move. She seemed scared, and a little sad, whoever it was behind that helmet.

 

"Can I ask you something else?"

 

"I- Um. Of course, your highness."

 

"What's your name?"

 

For a moment, Barry thought she would leave without a word, but then she spoke very softly, "My name is Linda. Linda Park. Um, if anyone asks though, my name is Dr. Light."

 

"Dr. Light? You're the guard with starlight powers, right?" Barry almost smiled, "I always thought that sounded really beautiful."

 

"You know me?"

 

"The king made me learn all the guards. We never met though."

 

"Sorry," she sounded guilty about several things. She recoiled backwards when Barry suddenly sat up and moved to face her on their knees.

 

"Please. Linda. You have to help me. There's someone I care about, who I think I might have put in danger, and I need to find him-"

 

Linda was already stumbling backwards, waving her hands in front of her face, "I can't! I can't. I have to go, I'm sorry."

 

The doors slammed closed.

 

-

 

The crooked stairs behind the door in the tree went surprisingly deep. They curved round and round, and the light breaking through the crack in the door was quickly replaced by darkness and the occasional relief of torchlight set against the hastily carved walls. There was no sound of footsteps echoing; Kara had convinced Iris to let her carry her, so they could float in perfect silence down the spiraling steps.

 

Kara could feel Iris shaking in her arms.

 

There was no door at the bottom, only an archway. A few more curving steps separated them from seeing clearly into it, or from being seen by whoever was inside. Kara paused, and set Iris down as quietly as possible on the third-to-last step. There was a shivering metal noise as Iris drew her sword slowly, and walked forward.

 

It was bigger than expected. The ceiling was high, and was hollowed out of the stone so that the whole room seemed like an underground dome. There were high rows of shelves and tables; covered in suspicious tools, bloodstained masks and helmets, glass jars full of things that looked unpleasantly organic and visceral. Iris saw them all peripherally. Through them, like a familiar face in a crowd of nightmares, she could make out a white head of hair at the other end of the room. She crouched as she walked toward it, feeling Kara drift behind her.

 

In the five feet left before they reached her, the white head with its back to them, they saw the body. Killerfrost was checking her nails and had her feet propped up next to a corpse on the metal table in front of her. Kara gasped, and though it was just a breath, it was enough to make Killerfrost turn around in her chair. She grinned.

 

"And here I was just thinking this couldn't get any more boring. Who knew?"

 

Kara spoke low and fast to Iris, "I'm so sorry. That's him. The body-"

 

Iris raised her sword to point it at Killerfrost's chest as she stood up, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't planning on stabbing her in the back anyways."

 

Killerfrost rolled her eyes, "Oh, great. Should I pretend you're the first person who's ever come to me wanting revenge, or can we just skip to the part where you die horribly unfulfilled?"

 

"Kara. Grab the body and get out of here."

 

"What?"

 

"Trust me! Just get the body-"

 

"What about you?"

 

Iris smirked as Killerfrost silently raised two hands shimmering with ice, "I'm fine."

 

Kara and Iris sprung forward, one towards a corpse and the other a villain. Both dodged a burst of lethal cold air, and Kara grabbed the body and rose to the ceiling, watching Iris dodge and spin as Killerfrost continued attacking. Iris would lunge and a wall of ice would block her. Even in the midst of fighting, she must have sensed Kara still waiting.

 

"Kara! Go!"

 

But Kara saw it at the same time that Iris did; Killerfrost had boxed Iris in. Three walls of ice and Killerfrost's own body trapped her in place with nowhere to dodge. Iris was forced to stand still and catch her breath as her father's killer looked teasingly apologetic while raising a hand to strike her.

 

Kara dove and picked up Iris by the collar of her shirt, just as the place where she had been standing froze over. Iris kicked at the air and yelled as they flew out of the room, through the archway, and up the stairs. She clawed at Kara's arm, and it left no marks.

 

Killerfrost was left behind, alive.

 

-

 

Kara dropped them both lightly down on a beach. Iris and the corpse were both equally silent, though one was much angrier than the other. Iris walked off to the water and ignored the waves sweeping and receding around her ankles. The corpse stayed at Kara's feet.

 

"Iris."

 

The back of her head.

 

"Iris. Come on. I wasn't gonna just let you die back there."

 

A visible, deep inhale of breath. It was in perfect time with the water rushing up and down the sand, and for a second Iris seemed bigger than herself, as if the whole ocean breathed with her. She turned around.

 

"I know. Thank you."

 

"We'll find her again. I promise. Right now, you need to tell me why I had to grab this body."

 

Iris walked back to her, and knelt down to look at the man's bared face, "This is the masked man? He looks so... young."

 

"Iris?"

 

She shook her head, "Sorry. Reminded me of someone. But I know a friend who might be able to help us. You up for carrying us both a bit farther?"

 

Kara smiled, "No problem."

 

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is like the iris and kara power-hour break chapter


	8. Chapter 8

"Dr. Snow?"

 

There was no answer, and Iris knocked on the cottage door again. She looked at Kara sheepishly.

 

"I guess nobody's home?"

 

"Oh, there definitely is somebody home. I can hear her hiding behind the curtains waiting for us to leave."

 

"I forget you have super-hearing."

 

"I forget you don't," Kara turned back to the door, "Dr. Snow? We need to see you. Our friend is in trouble."

 

A pause, and then a muffled voice from inside, "What kind of trouble?"

 

"He's dead."

 

Another pause, and then the door clicked and opened. A brunette Killerfrost with warm eyes stood at the threshold, looking worried and annoyed. Kara immediately stepped in front of Iris, who only put a hand on her shoulder and stepped around her.

 

"It's okay, Kara. Caitlin is Killerfrost's double. They only look alike, she's a total sweetheart."

 

"What?"

 

"Like, Killerfrost is Caitlin's evil twin."

 

Caitlin Snow gave Kara a dry look, "Trust me, you're not the only one who gets confused. Iris tried to kill me the first time we met before she realized I couldn't freeze an ice cube," she turned to Iris, "I'm sorry I didn't answer. I wasn't sure if it was really you. Rumor is the king's been drafting doctors. Come in, come in."

 

Despite her stiffness, she pulled Iris into a hug and let them bring the dead body into her house. Kara kept him thrown over her shoulder. She quietly observed the room as Iris explained the situation; the shelves were neat with books in alphabetical order, and boxes filled with medical supplies labeled in clear handwriting. A cup of tea was still full on a writing desk shoved in the corner, next to an open door. Kara could see a bed, perfectly made, beyond it. She was brought back to attention by Caitlin's voice.

 

"Kara, was it? You can put the body down on the operating table, please."

 

Kara laid him down and Caitlin gasped. Her eyes were immediately wet, and Iris moved toward her in concern.

 

"Caitlin?"

 

"Oh... Cisco. Oh no."

 

"You knew him?"

 

"He was an old friend of mine... I hadn't seen him in years, but he sent me letters saying he'd settled down with someone. I hadn't gotten a letter in awhile but I figured he'd just lost touch... Oh," she brushed her fingers against the wound in his chest, "How did this happen?"

 

Iris's voice had quieted, "We're not sure. We found him in a torture room we believe belongs to the king. Killerfrost was there with him."

 

"What? And wait, Iris, did you-"

 

"She's still alive."

 

Caitlin inhaled instead of finishing her original sentence, and pulled her hand away from Cisco's body, "Oh. I hate saying this. Please, please know that I would do anything I could but... I'm just a doctor. I can't bring anyone back to life, as much as I want to. You'd have to be able to turn back time."

 

"It's okay. At least we can give him a proper- Kara? Why are you making that face?"

 

Kara's face was breaking into an excited grin.

 

-

 

"And... you're sure this is gonna work?"

 

"My cousin did something like this once so... I'd think so? I don't know. We have the same powers but he's pretty lucky. I might just get really tired. But it's worth a shot, right?"

 

Caitlin was standing by her door, back to looking doubtful, "I don't understand how this could have possibly worked for this cousin of yours. Where exactly are you from?"

 

Kara saluted loosely, "Oh, you know. Another Earth, through the looking glass, all that stuff."

 

"What?"

 

Iris put a hand out, "Look, don't worry about it, Catilin. Kara... she does have a point. Can you really turn back time by running in the opposite direction of the Earth's rotation? What does that even have to do with time?"

 

"How can a meteor give people superpowers?"

 

"Good point. Just... be careful. Don't hit any trees at the speed of sound or whatever. Okay?"

 

Kara beamed at her, and took off.

 

-

 

The Earth spun back several days under Kara's feet. She flew back to the grey tree with the secret door, and waited for an opportunity. She was sweating, which was uncommon for her.

 

She had waited an hour and was going to give up and just risk her chances when the door opened. Killerfrost stepped out, alone, and walked off into the woods mumbling something about needing fresh air. Kara hesitated, then drifted through the door, down the spiral steps, and into the torture room.

 

It was a lot like the first time she had entered, except now instead of seeing Killerfrost through the shelves, she saw Deathstorm. She could hear the faint heartbeat of someone else in the room.

 

She rolled her shoulders, figured it was now-or-never, and launched herself towards it.

 

Before Deathstorm could notice her over his head, she was already breathing ice down at him. It was nowhere near as strong as Killerfrost, but it was enough to slow him down. She cut the cuffs on Cisco's ankles and wrists with some old-fashioned eye lasers, picked up his unconscious body, and bolted for the exit just as a surge of fire knocked down the entire row of shelves to her left.

 

She body-checked a surprised Killerfrost on the way back up the stairs, and felt almost giddy as she laughed at the curses that followed her and failed to keep up.

 

She dropped Cisco off at Caitlin's doorstep, knocked on the door, and flew off as soon as she heard the creak of it opening. She found a field to land in. She hoped she had enough energy left in her to get back.

 

Kara ran forward.

 

-

 

Days reeled back into place under her heels. She returned to the cottage, the same day she'd left it. The door was ajar, and she could hear three voices inside. She pushed it open and stepped inside to see Caitlin, Iris, and Cisco talking. They were all mostly alive. They stopped to look at her. Cisco gave her a small friendly nod.

 

"Hey, Kara. We were just talking-"

 

She scooped him up in her arms, "You're not dead!"

 

Cisco's feet swung above the floor, and Iris's mouth pursed to keep from smiling, "Uh, yeah, he isn't. Are you okay, Kara?"

 

Kara let go, "We found Cisco in a torture chamber underground but he was dead, so we brought him here and then I went back in time to save him and then I came back and I guess... none of you remember that since it no longer happened."

 

She fell into a chair, "I hate time travel."

 

Iris laughed, "I don't know if I understand what you just said, but if I did, I'd believe you. I definitely don't know what torture chamber you're talking about, though. We went out looking for him, and you overheard him talking to Caitlin in her house while flying over the woods."

 

Cisco raised a hand, "Uh, I know what Kara's talking about."

 

Kara frowned, "How?"

 

"Part of my powers is seeing into other timelines," he ran his hand through his hair, grimacing, "I remember what happened in that torture chamber, even if it no longer actually... happened. Thanks, by the way."

 

Kara's eyes widened for a moment, and then she was up from the chair and hugging Cisco again, this time quiet and still. His feet stayed on the floor. Iris looked toward Caitlin for a scientific explanation; Caitlin shook her head.

 

-

 

Barry rolled onto their side when they heard the doors open. They had given up on convincing Linda to help them. The coronation was tomorrow. They hid the fork they had been using to try and work the cuff lock with, tucking it under their arm.

 

The light clank of the food tray hitting the stone floor, and Linda's shy voice, "Barry?"

 

They didn't reply. Linda sounded more nervous than usual.

 

"I wanted to see how you were doing," suddenly her voice was closer, whispering, "Deathstorm's... dead. Zolo- The king killed him."

 

Barry sat up in a blur of movement, "Why?"

 

Even with her face hidden, Linda's fear was evident in the defensive hunch of her shoulders, "I... I heard that Deathstorm let a prisoner escape. A really important one. I just thought I should tell you."

 

Barry relaxed for the first time in days and laid back on the floor, "Thank you. I know you could get in a lot of trouble for telling me that."

 

Linda's mouth turned upwards, small and sincere. She began to stand back up, stopped midway, and then crouched back down. Her voice was stronger this time.

 

"One last thing, and after that I'm not helping you anymore. But I think maybe someone else out there will. Goodbye, Barry Allen."

 

And with that, Linda's mouth, as well as her chin and her neck and any other uncovered skin, disappeared. Her suit of armor, her long white coat, her gloves and boots, her helmet, all stood up seemingly empty with nobody inside. They all began to fall one by one to the floor, the helmet last with a ringing clatter as it rolled to a stop against the dresser against the wall. Barry looked on it all in confusion, and then understood when they saw the bedroom doors close and lock by themselves. Their leg felt lighter, and they looked down to see that the cuff had been unlocked and fallen open to the floor.

 

An invisible Dr. Light had fled.

 

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks linda


	9. Chapter 9

The four of them stood in Caitlin's operating room. The coronation was the next day and there was a vague plan in motion. Cisco avoided the panic that had been building up in the back of his chest. He'd told them that the King was actually Zoom to great shock, but he'd avoided telling them the Flash's real name or how he knew them.

 

"We need to get there before the ceremony."

 

Kara tilted her head, "Why? Maybe things will be easier if the Flash gets some power as the heir."

 

"Zolomon would never share power. The coronation is probably just for show-"

 

Iris finished the sentence, "-and then to keep power, he'll kill off the Flash as soon as possible."

 

"Exactly."

 

Caitlin shook her head, "But the king, Zoom, he must know that he'll eventually die and have to cede power to _someone_ , unless-

 

Kara's eyes widened, "Unless he has some way to stay immortal!"

 

"Reverb used to work for Zoom until he tried to betray him. He said something once about how he couldn't wait around for Zoom to find another speedster and get stronger," Cisco gestured vaguely, "I think Zoom might have found a way to absorb other people's speed, and it might increase his lifespan. But if he's so much faster than Ba- than the Flash in the first place, why go through the whole sham of making them heir?"

 

They all stared at the floor in silence before Caitlin and Cisco simultaneously yelled, "The crown!"

 

"Something about it must be engineered or enchanted! As soon as they crown the Flash-"

 

"-they'll likely be incapacitated, the King will be able to usher them off to a room away from concerned guests, and then... I don't know, there must be some way for the crown to transfer the speed back to him. And then the Flash..."

 

Cisco focused on the corner of the operating table, "Captain Cold mentioned something about the royal guard being an excuse for the king to ignore other issues. He has approval because people are afraid he's the only thing keeping them safe. If he can frame another kingdom for the death of the Flash-"

 

Caitlin: "Then he'll be able to justify invading another country and starting a war."

 

Iris leaned against the wall, "I'm glad we uncovered this huge conspiracy, but we have a bigger problem. How are we going to beat Zoom?"

 

The room grew despondent. The sun had finished setting outside and light no longer fell through the windows. Cisco ran his hands through his hair.

 

"There's something Reverb told me... The thing that gives the Flash and Zoom their powers is like its own dimension. He called it the Speed Force. He thought he could tap into it and cut off Zoom's speed at the source."

 

Iris raised her eyebrows, "And then Zoom murdered him."

 

"No, well, yeah, but it's because he didn't have a way in. He needed a guide, or like a gateway, in order to reach it. He kept saying that ideally he needed another speedster in order to get to the Speed Force, but he gave up on finding one and then... got murdered."

 

Kara folded her arms and stepped forward, "I guess we know our plan then."

 

"We do?"

 

Iris pushed herself off the wall and put her hands on her hips, matching Kara's resigned confidence, "Yep! We break in, get there before the coronation, and make sure you get to the Flash before Zoom kills us all."

 

-

-

-

 

Barry took off as soon as they saw the shackle was loose. They didn't know where they were running, only that they had to keep moving. They had to find Cisco.

 

They phased through the locked doors and made it to the end of the abandoned hallway before a suddenly outstretched leg tripped them. They stumbled and fell hard across the floor, their hand inches from the door that led out into the open catwalk. Something grabbed them by the back of their collar before they could get up.

 

Zoom pulled them up and held Barry off the floor. They had only heard rumors of the monster. The mask was shaped like a grey face melting and stuck in a permanent scream. It stared at them lifelessly, before Zoom removed it with a free hand. Underneath, Zolomon smiled at them.

 

"I have to give you credit. You're more trouble than I thought you'd be. But it doesn't matter if I lock you down for my own convenience, or some traitor underling frees you out of the goodness of their heart. Now, who was guarding you," he hummed thoughtfully," Oh! Dr. Light, of course. I'll have to hunt her down and kill her now. But obviously, not until your coronation is over! You always come first to me, Barry. That reminds me! I have a gift-"

 

Shackles clicked over both Barry's wrists and ankles. It was done so fast that by the time Barry realized what had happened, Zolomon was already back to holding them in one hand and his mask in the other.

 

"I had some new cuffs built using Cold's design. What's the point of practicality without a little style?" Zolomon chuckled and set Barry down, though kept a hand fisted in the front of their tunic, "Of course, you'll look a little strange all locked up during your own coronation, but I'll think of something. You see, Barry-"

 

He dragged Barry back to their room in an instant, "-that's the thing you still don't seem to get. No matter what, I'm always one step ahead of you."

 

He left the room, but not before locking the old cuff still attached to the bed around Barry's leg again.

 

-

 

It was the day of the coronation. Kara held Cisco under one arm and Iris under the other. Caitlin waved the three of them off at the door.

 

"Good luck beating Zoom! Be safe!"

 

And then they were off, already getting distant in the sky. Caitlin sighed and looked in the direction of the castle. She stayed like that for an hour before heading back inside. Her front door closed quietly against the morning.

 

-

 

The Flash wore a long red dress that trailed past their feet, with sleeves that fell past their wrists. Their face was not covered by a mask, but obscured by a scarlet veil that covered their whole head. In fact, the only part of their skin visible as they walked down the aisle of the throne room, surrounded on either side by gathered nobles and heroes, was their hands. They were held out in front of their chest, stiffly holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. The king held their arm supportively as they moved slowly towards the priest at the end of the room.

 

The supposed priest, a seedy looking man with a thick beard and receding hairline, grinned sourly once they reached him. He bowed to the King, and the King, in a show of noble humility, gave a small nod back. The Flash remained standing straight. If one looked closer, they'd notice the sharp threads that kept their hands in place around the bouquet. If one looked even closer, they'd notice that without their hands around the bouquet, it would be obvious that their wrists were shackled together. The priest did look closer, and he did notice these things. He didn't care.

 

The Flash and the King turned to face the audience. The priest spoke.

 

"Today we are gathered to welcome a new era of peace. King Zolomon has found a hero to protect not only our own lives, but the lives of our children in the future. It is fitting that one blessed with the same powers as our King would be made the heir of this kingdom, so they may continue to defend it from any evil. We live in an age of fear, of Zoom, of growing threats and border skirmishes from neighbors who would be jealous of our prosperity," at this there was a curious and worried murmur among the crowd, "It does not need to be a permanent age, however. Not as long as we are willing to fight those who would harm us, harm our familes and livelihood. And not as long as we have," he grinned toothily at the king and the Flash, "heroes willing to act fast."

 

He bowed again. The king took the crown from the pedestal. The Flash did not kneel, or lower their head. The crowd began whispering again as the King waited for the Flash to move.

 

Suddenly there was yelling from the courtyard, followed by several screams and the clanging of armor and swords. The King's hands hovered over the Flash's head, before he called out to the guards.

 

"Escort the guests to safety! I'll bring the new heir to safety. But first-"

 

And then the King set the crown on Barry's head while they were distracted. In the ensuing chaos, nobody noticed the Flash faint before the King carried them away in a blur.

 

-

 

Kara bowled over another three guards. Some she had frozen in place, their feet held fast to the courtyard dirt with ice, and others she had to fling off her back as they threw themselves at her. Iris and Cisco could only stay out of her way as she kept the circle of fighters surrounding her at bay. When Iris stepped forward to find an opening, Kara only shouted at her.

 

"Get out of here! Cisco, find the Flash! Iris, you know what you need to do!"

 

"Kara-"

 

"It's Supergirl! And go already!"

 

Iris and Cisco watched her catch a sword by the hand and bend it away from her throat. They ran towards the castle chapel at the other end of the courtyard, and pushed the heavy engraved doors open.

 

It was empty inside. Pews were knocked over. The place had clearly been recently abandoned.

 

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it only took a million years for me to get to, but it's finally time to storm the castle


	10. Chapter 10

Zolomon paced the bedroom angrily. He was sick of coming back to this place. Once the Flash was dead, he would order all the furniture thrown in a pile and set on fire, and have the whole tower boarded up. He would be able to claim it was out of grief, just like the war and invading the other kingdoms. He planned to attack Thawne first; there was a rumor the man secretly had his own powers.

 

The Flash, left sitting in an armchair, woke up. The crown was still firmly in place, though Zolomon had thrown the veil off in annoyance. It had only been meant to cover the cloth tied over Barry's mouth during the ceremony. Even the cuffs were gone, bitter reminders of Captain Cold's success where Zoom had failed in creating a material impossible to vibrate through. The flowers had been dashed to the floor. Another annoyance. Zolomon picked one up and twirled it in his hands for something to do.

 

"You know what's the one catch in this process, Barry?"

 

He pulled the gag off Barry's mouth, but even then they had no energy to respond. Even if they had, they wouldn't have answered. Zoom threw the flower at the wall and the stem stuck in place.

 

"It's that even though the wizard I blackmailed is the smartest man in my own dimension, he still can't find a way to steal people's speed without it taking time. The dagger I used to kill the original king, my own goody two shoes doppelganger, it was the same as this crown. I had to wait hours next to his body for it to leech everything out," he looked away from the wall, "At least you're too weak to move. My guards will keep your guests at bay for an hour, then I'll get what I want, and then I will kill you and leave your body on the border. But not before I kill each of your friends in front of you."

 

-

 

Iris and Cisco split up, Iris running off to search for Killerfrost and Cisco stepping through a portal and disappearing. Through the windows of the castle walls and towers, people cautiously peered out to see Supergirl in the yard still fighting the fifty guards sent to attack her.

 

-

 

Killerfrost was locked up against the wall of the basement dungeon. Compared to what had happened to Deathstorm, her punishment was light; for 'abandoning her post', she would be left to rot for however long Zoom felt she should. He had said he may or may not remember to send someone down to bring her food. She sucked on the inside of her cheek, bored and trying not to think too hard. Zoom was likely just trying to scare her. Unless he brought Black Siren over from their own dimension, Killerfrost was the only guard left who wasn't completely useless.

 

On the other hand, if the skeleton hung next to her was any indication, she could be here for quite awhile.

 

Footsteps fell frantically down the dungeon steps and a shadow was thrown on the stair walls. Killerfrost watched as a woman leaped over the last three steps and slid across the mildewed floor. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes stared blankly at Killerfrost's face before they focused.

 

"You."

 

"Uh, hi. You are?"

 

The woman just walked towards her, shaking her head as she saw the shackles, "This isn't right. You're not supposed to be locked up."

 

Killerfrost shrugged as well as she could with her hands chained to the wall, "I got in trouble with the boss."

 

The woman glared at her and then started searching the room. Killerfrost watched as she found a ring of keys on the wall and walked back to her. She started cackling when the woman crouched down and started testing keys in the cuff on her ankle.

 

"Seriously, lady, who are you?"

 

The woman found the right key, and the cuffs snapped off Killerfrost's right ankle, then her left, "In another timeline, I found you in a torture chamber with the body of Cisco Ramon. I came there to fight you. In any timeline, I'm Iris West. You killed my father, Joe West. And I don't kill," she twisted the key in the last cuff on Killerfrost's wrist, and looked her in the eye as it unlocked, "but for you, I'll make an exception."

 

The metal hit the floor, and Killerfrost rubber her wrists with a pout before sizing up Iris, who had stepped back and drawn her sword.

 

"You know, it's a lot easier to kill someone if they're chained to a wall."

 

"That's not how I do things."

 

Killerfrost rolled her eyes, "Oh God, were you this sanctimonious in the other timeline?"

 

Iris sneered and threw the keys to the side, "Just shut up and fight me."

 

-

 

Zoom was lying in Barry's bed, throwing a ball up and catching it like a bored child. Barry was still sitting in the chair, unable to move. They watched the ball rise and fall. They startled when instead of tossing it back up, Zoom suddenly hurled it at the wall. Instead of bouncing off, it simply lodged itself next to the flower stem still in place. Zoom stood up from the bed and rubbed his hands together.

 

"You know what? I don't need to wait around for your speed before killing your friends. I'll be right back."

 

Barry shouted against the cloth over their mouth, but Zoom was already gone.

 

-

 

Zoom first noticed the woman fighting thirty of his guards in the courtyard, and while he was intrigued, he was sure she hadn't come alone. She was creating a fine distraction, but he knew that somewhere in his castle was a realer threat. He smiled to himself as he watched her throw a man ten feet into the stables. The guards could use a good beating anyways.

 

He ran through the halls, peering into rooms. It wouldn't take long to find the intruders, but he was already starting to get restless after a very irritating day. He raced to the dungeon; taunting Killerfrost about whether or not he'd free her was sure to relieve stress.

 

When he skidded to a halt at the bottom of the basement stairs, he did not see Killerfrost chained to the wall but lying on the floor, propping herself up on an elbow as a woman stood over her. The woman held a sword to Killerfrost's neck. Neither of them seemed to notice him. He watched the two, silent and amused. Killerfrost yelled at the woman.

 

"Are you gonna kill me or not?"

 

"Get up. I'm not killing you while you're knocked down."

 

An exasperated Killerfrost looked at the woman like she was two-headed, "You heroes always have to waste everyone's time by beating around the bush like this."

 

"Get up."

 

"Admit it. If you really wanted to kill me, you would have done it already. What, are you worried about feeling guilty?"

 

Zoom cleared his throat, and the two women looked away from each other as he took an idle, slow step forward.

 

-

 

Cisco sensed Zoom leave the bedroom. All he had to do was open a portal now that he was gone, before he could return. The only fear was that at anytime, Zoom could return to the room in two seconds and kill him in one.

 

Cisco opened the portal before he could overthink it and waste any more time.

 

-

 

Zoom continued strolling towards them across the unwashed dungeon floor, as charmed and light as if he had met them while walking through a garden. He gave Killerfrost a wry smile before turning curiously to Iris.

 

"Ladies, I hate to interrupt, but-"

 

Even as Iris could feel the dread in her stomach blossom into full-panic, a wave of ice washed over Zoom where he stood. She turned with wide eyes to see Killerfrost as the source, her hands outstretched and shaking as she directed a blizzard at the king. It had been too surprising for even him to dodge. Iris glared at her.

 

"I knew you were holding back during our fight."

 

"Are you kidding me right now?" Killerfrost looked away from a second to give her a last contemptuous glance, "You're not the only one who wants revenge. Now get out of here."

 

Iris felt anger mix into her fear as she wondered if she was supposed to thank her father's killer for this moment. She was frozen in place. Killerfrost ground her teeth.

 

"Oh jeez. I'm not doing this for you, okay? So just leave already. That friend of yours probably needs help fighting every guard in the castle."

 

Iris stared at her one second more than she had to, then ran, cursing under her breath.

 

-

 

Cisco stepped into the bedroom. Reflexively, he noted the furniture, the high ceiling, the huge bed, the yellow flowers scattered on the floor, the ball lodged in the wall, the love of his life dying in an armchair in the corner, the small windows, the familiar wooden trunk.

 

Cisco ran to the armchair, and ripped the crown off Barry's head. It rolled with a hollow clanging as he tossed it to the floor, not even looking to see where it was landed. He kept his eyes on Barry.

 

Their eyes were closed, and their face pale. Cisco felt despair looming close until he noticed that Barry was still breathing, and then a faint moonbeam-glimmer of hope when they opened their eyes. They blinked at him and smiled. The color returned to their face as they stood up, but Cisco could see the sharp realization as they moved; Barry's speed was gone.

 

They didn't say anything. They just shook their head, as if it was only a passing worry.

 

Before Cisco could explain that he needed to touch Barry right now, by holding hands or even just a tap on the shoulder, Barry's hands were cupping his face.

 

Half of Cisco immediately perceived the Speed Force, like a dream but not, like the rush of both pressure and weightlessness when diving underwater but not, like sitting on a hill with Barry and watching the sunset but not. The other half felt Barry's warm fingers tuck his hair behind his ears, felt their thumb brush his chin as they searched his face. Their eyes were wet. They were smiling a small, disbelieving smile, still open to some chance at joy despite everything that had happened.

 

"I thought I was never going to see you again."

 

Then they leaned forward, leaving a small space between them for Cisco to bridge, and Cisco didn't need to hesitate. He kissed Barry.

 

Reality and the Speed Force became simultaneous. In one, the kiss. In the other, Cisco stood alone in front of a harp. It was twice his size, gold and the only other thing that seemed to exist besides himself. His fingers hovered across the strings without touching; each a different material, a different tone, a different color.

 

He stopped at two next to each other. One, bright red, was snapped. The other was grey and stretched so tight it seemed to shake without being touched.

 

Cisco brushed the broken ends of the red string and it fell back together under his fingers, whole. He dragged the same finger across the grey string. It did not snap, but crumbled, as if it had been made of solid ash all along.

 

He felt a hand on his shoulder. In the Speed Force, he turned around and saw Barry standing behind him, beaming. In reality, settling full now as the Speed Force left him, Cisco broke the kiss. He closed his eyes and breathed. Barry kissed the corner of his mouth, his nose, his eyebrow. Cisco laughed and Barry kissed his forehead.

 

"I love you, Buttercup."

 

"I love you too, Cisco," Barry kissed him again, "I think I have for a very long time."

 

Cisco grabbed their shoulders in an attempt to focus again, "Did you see it too? The Speed Force?"

 

Barry's dreamy grin stayed in place, "Yeah."

 

"Do you think it worked?"

 

They nodded quietly. Their hand slipped into Cisco's.

 

"Did _what_ work?"

 

They both spun to see Zoom standing at the door, unmasked and shoulders hunched, suit dripping with still melting frost. The serenity of King Zolomon was gone; in his place stood an angry beast. There was blood on his right hand, a red glove amid all the gray. Cisco felt Barry squeeze his hand as they spoke.

 

"It's over, Zoom."

 

Zoom grinned, his breath shuddering as he started to laugh, walking slowly towards them, "How many times do I have to tell you? It doesn't matter what you do or where you go. I will always be there. I will always be faster."

 

Barry was unshaken, and without looking at them, Cisco could imagine the way their face scrunched up in an insolent smile whenever they were sure they'd won, "Yeah... The thing is, I don't think that's true."

 

The remaining color in Zoom's face drained. He lunged for Cisco before he could react, but even then it was clear that Zoom only moved at a normal pace. Cisco could have sighed in relief even as the hand reached for his throat.

 

Another hand caught Zoom's wrist before it could reach Cisco.

 

Barry smiled as they twisted the king's arm until he fell to his knees. They looked down on him with an almost cruel calmness.

 

"Cisco? Could you find something to tie him up with?"

 

"What? Oh, uh, yeah," he ran to the bed and started tearing the sheets into strips as Zoom began pleading.

 

"Barry, please, you have to understand, I'm sick, the only cure is getting faster or I'll die. Otherwise, I never would have hurt you, you're like a child to me-"

 

Barry twisted his arm further, and almost gently led him to the armchair where they had been left to die earlier, "Cisco, could you help tie him up?"

 

He started winding the sheets around Zoom as the man continued speaking.

 

"You need me alive. I wasn't going to tell you this because I knew it would only upset you, but I know who killed your parents-" Zoom saw the way Barry's smile faltered, and his voice grew confident, "If you let me go, if you give me my speed back I can help you find him and kill him. You can finally get revenge-"

 

In what could only barely be registered as a blur, Barry tied a sheet around Zoom's mouth, before returning to holding him in place as Cisco warily continued wrapping sheets around him. Barry bent down to look Zoom in the eyes and to speak firmly.

 

"Even if you did know, I don't want your help. That's something I have to do for myself. But," Barry patted Zoom's cheek, their eyes hard, "thanks for offering."

 

Barry straightened up and sighed, the pleased cruelty gone and replaced by something more fragile, "And I'm not going to kill you. Even after everything you did... " they shook their head and disappeared. The trunk against the wall had been opened, and only a suit was left inside. Cisco tightened one least sheet and ran out after them, ignoring the muffled yelling of Zoom trying to call him back.

 

The door at the end of the hallway was open. Cisco walked through it and out onto the catwalk over the courtyard. He looked over the bannister, at the herd of guards still groaning in the mud. Kara and Iris were still alive somewhere, he could feel that. He could feel Barry somewhere too, still in the castle.

 

Without needing to search, simply knowing it, he looked up to the top of the high back wall of the courtyard. Barry was standing there, an old red dress billowing around their legs as they looked out past the woods behind the castle. Cisco squared his shoulders before opening a portal, and stepping through it directly to Barry's side. They didn't seem surprised.

 

"I guess I got kind of scary back there."

 

Cisco propped his elbows up on the wall with them, "Yeah. Who wouldn't though?"

 

Barry just winced, still looking off distantly, "I don't want to be like that. But even now, I still..."

 

They shut their eyes and Cisco leaned forward to try and look them in the face, "You still want to kill him."

 

"And I'm not going to! But... I don't even _want_ to want to," they opened their eyes and turned to Cisco, their hands reaching out to hold his before thinking better of it and curling up to their chest, "I don't think I'm the same person I was when you left. I understand if that... changes things."

 

Cisco leaned his head back in a silent understanding 'oh' and then bit his lip. He peeled Barry's hands open, placing his palm over theirs. He shook his head and half-smiled.

 

"I don't think any normal person _wouldn't_ feel that way. And I know it's a nasty feeling, and it's not heroic... but choosing to do what you think is right, even when it's hard, even when frankly I don't really know if that jerk deserves any mercy... that's what heroes do," he ducked his head before looking up to Barry, "Look, we're both different people than we were three years ago. And things are gonna keep changing, and we're gonna keep changing, and I don't know if it's gonna get worse or better, you know? But from now on, I want to be there with you for it. Whatever happens, Buttercup. That part hasn't changed."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Barry smiled. Not vicious or small, not sad despite the tears already in their eyes. They both leaned in to kiss and were interrupted by a shout.

 

"Hey! Lovebirds!"

 

They turned around to see Iris and Kara on the wall, strolling towards them, worse for wear but smugly, vibrantly alive. It took three seconds for Iris to see Barry's face, to really see it, before she started running. She threw her arms around Barry's neck and their arms wrapped tight around her, spinning her off the ground in a hug. Cisco backed up to stand by Kara's side. They both smiled at each other as Barry and Iris pulled apart to speak.

 

"Iris-"

 

"Barry!"

 

"Iris, I didn't know you were here-"

 

"I didn't know we were saving _you_! Barry, you're the Flash!"

 

"Who cares? Iris, you're _here_ , I-" they cut themselves off and set her down, hand brushing over her hair as if to test if she was real. Barry glanced at Kara, who waved shyly, and then they did a doubletake. They looked back to Iris.

 

"Wait, did you two kidnap me?"

 

Iris's eyebrows leaped as her mouth fell open, "Uh, well... Okay, I didn't know that was you! Like obviously if I did-" she was interrupted by Barry bursting into laughter. She punched them in the arm, soft. Cisco raised his hand.

 

"Yo, I don't want to ruin the moment, but we still have Zoom tied up in a chair with some 600-thread count. What are we gonna do now?"

 

Kara looked upwards, considering possibilities, "Throw him in a lake?"

 

Iris put a hand on her hip, "We're going to have to expose him as Zoom as soon as we can. Then... I guess he'll go to trial and it will be in a jury's hands. And technically, Barry _was_ crowned as heir. So I guess we should ask the new ruler of the Central Kingdom what else needs to be done."

 

The three of them turned to Barry, who had a hand fisted over their mouth as they considered the options. They ended up shrugging.

 

"I'm not really a ruler kind of person. And I think people will probably be kind of sick of the monarchy after this. Maybe we could do like an election?"

 

Cisco groaned and ran his hands over his face, "Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, it's just that it's gonna be such a pain to organize."

 

"Hey, you promised like five minutes ago that you'd stand by me no matter what."

 

"Yeah, but setting up an electoral process is really pushing it."

 

Iris grinned, "What if, for now, we stick with just making sure people know the king is evil?"

 

Barry nodded, "Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good place to start."

 

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'what's your favorite thing in the world' it might be killerfrost knocking zoom on his smug ass


	11. Chapter 11

Francine stopped. Wally sat up from his pillow.

 

"Wait. Is that it?"

 

"Yep. That's the end."

 

Wally made a face, "Really?"

 

"Well, yeah, honey. They beat the bad guy."

 

"But... But I don't know. It feels like there's other stuff."

 

She leaned onto the bed and wiggled her shoulders around, ready to listen, "Like what, baby?"

 

"Like... Like is Kara gonna get home? Are people gonna really believe Zolomon was Zoom? Is Iris still sad about her dad? You know. Other stuff."

 

Francine nodded, "Okay, okay, good point. Is that all you wanted to hear about?"

 

Wally let his eyes wander over the glow-in-the-dark plastic stars stuck with putty to the ceiling, "I mean. I kind of want to hear about Cisco some more... And Barry too."

 

"Wally, it's okay if you liked the romance parts. Lots of people like love stories."

 

Wally blinked down at his comforter, and then scooted himself further under it, "Okay."

 

"I'll tell you the epilogue, okay? You know what an epilogue is?"

 

He shook his head and the edge of the comforter fell from where it had been resting on his chin.

 

"It's like... well, after the really big part of the story ends, but you still have questions. Like if someone ever gets back home or if tying the bad guy to a chair is really enough or if people still get sad or if they stay in love."

 

His eyelids started sinking, "Wait, how do you spell it?"

 

Francine smiled, and stroked his head. His forehead already felt cooler.

 

"How about I tell you after you get some sleep, and after you wake up and eat some more soup, okay?"

 

He groaned, despite his eyes closing and staying closed, "I'm fine, mom, I'm totally awake."

 

She kissed his forehead and stood up, ignoring the soreness nagging at her back, "How about this; you let me go to the bathroom, and if I get back and you're still awake, I'll tell you then."

 

He murmured in agreement, and she bit back laughter as she walked to the door. His voice, more lucid than before, stopped her.

 

"Hey, mom?"

 

She turned around in the doorway, "Yeah, baby?"

 

His eyes were still closed, and he still seemed so small under the lightning-bolt-patterned sheets of his bed, but his voice was clear, "I love you."

 

"I love you too, Wally."

 

-

-

-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might write an epilogue... but as of now this is like accidentally the longest thing i've ever written and i'm fine leaving it open. i'll probably wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat over whether i forgot any plotholes, but for now i hope it's good, thanks for reading
> 
> oh! also, little unnamed cameos were  
> -kat grant as the witch that supergirl originally worked for back home  
> -martin stein and jefferson jackson as the alchemist and apprentice in chapter one  
> -vandal savage as the seedy priest in chapter nine  
> -earth2 harry wells as the smart blackmailed wizard that zoom mentions in chapter ten


End file.
